CALGARY -- Alberta parents and guardians are continuing to struggle with the decision of whether to enrol their kids in classes this fall or keep them home as safety concerns remain top of mind.
It’s an especially difficult decision for parents with children attending schools that are already overcrowded including Robert Thirsk High School in northwest Calgary. That building alone already has nearly 1,300 students typically registered for classes, some of which are so large that students overflow into the hallways.
Charmayne Pooyak has six children including two who will attend Robert Thirsk this fall.
The Calgary mother has underlying health conditions and is therefore concerned about the potential of her children contracting the virus and bringing it home.
"They say the kids are going to social distance, but I just think there isn't any way they are going to practice social distancing in their school," Pooyak said.
"I don’t feel comfortable sending them to school."
Other parents like Michelle Gagnon who has a son attending Robert Thirsk agree that the risk is just not worth it.
"Tyson will be doing homeschool — he chose that on his own and he doesn’t feel like it’s worth the risk of being sick and spreading it to his other family who have compromised immune systems," said Gagnon.
"It’s a little bit of a relief and one less thing I have to worry about in regards to who he’s spending time with."
Parents with kids within the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) have until August 24 to enrol their children in school or keep them at home. Those who originally choose online learning can change their mind in February.
Further updates from CBE about re-entry this September will be updated regularly on its website.
The Calgary Catholic School District has set its enrolment deadline for August 21, but will require students who choose to study online to complete their courses online for the duration of the school year.
Meanwhile, several other parents are still concerned over the safety of their children. A rally will take place Tuesday afternoon outside of Education Minister Adriana LaGrange’s constituency office in Red Deer. A group called Hold My Hand Alberta is calling on the minister to rethink and fund a better back-to-school plan for the province.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has also scheduled a meeting on Wednesday with LaGrange to address a number of concerns.
ATA president Jason Schilling has called the province’s school re-entry plan deficient and laid out seven priorities to create a safer environment.
The ATA’s priorities include:
- A community COVID-19 response plan
- Improving ventilation in schools
- More steps to protect higher risk students
- Funding for caretaking staff
- Cleaning supplies
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
An additional priority is to create both provincial and local COVID-19 response teams and plans so that teachers, students and parents can evaluate what’s working and not working during the school year.
