Around 92 per cent of students returned to in class learning across School District 68 this week, a substantial increase on the expected return from a survey in late August. (Kyle Ireland/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

TEETHING PROBLEMS

Increased enrollment, mask delays among first week bumps for return to school

Sep 18, 2020 | 5:31 AM

NANAIMO — The first week of in-class education across Nanaimo-Ladysmith schools is mostly done, despite a few hiccups.

Approximately 92 per cent of SD68 students returned to in class learning this week, well above the expected 83 per cent according to a school district survey in early September.

The remaining students opted for distance education or transitional learning options provided by the district.

“There’s been a little bit of juggling for sure,” Scott Saywell, SD68 superintendent, told NanaimoNewsNOW. “What typically takes us a week, sometimes more at elementary schools, we’ve been able to do in a day or two. The cohorts are now settled.”

Saywell estimated around 400 students chose to take transitional learning for the first few months of the school year, with a seat reserved in their neighbourhood school until early November.

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Another challenge for the district was the distribution of masks and other personal protective equipment.

Funding from various levels of government afforded two masks for every staff and student at schools across the province in addition to face shields and hand sanitizing stations.

“(The shipments) did come a little late so we handed out a bunch of disposable, single use masks in the first couple of days,” Saywell said. “The elementary student masks arrived a couple of days ago, the teacher masks were here early and we’ve been sharing those with the secondary students as well.”

Saywell said a decent percentage of students came to school Monday with their own masks.

Nanaimo District Teachers Association president Denise Wood said her members have expressed concern around accessibility to face shields and mandatory mask rules in common areas.

She said adoption of masks at the secondary level was good inside the buildings, however the work and formation of cohort learning groups didn’t make sense to her and is negated as soon as students leave.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to govern or try to tell families what students are going to do outside of classrooms,” Wood said. “If I have two children in my family, they’re likely going to be in two different cohorts, so they’re supposed to self-isolate from each other when they’re not in school?”

The introduction of cohorts was done to aid in contact tracing, a heavily-used practice by public health to monitor community outbreaks.

Wood added physical distancing and mask use is particularly challenging at the elementary level where social distancing and teaching from afar is nearly impossible.

“Elementary students perhaps have a less easy time maintaining physical distance…even if the physical space was available in the classroom, you cannot teach primary students from a distance, it’s not possible.”

In late August, the NDTA sent a letter to the school district asking for the mandatory mask rule to be extended to any student 10 years of age or older.

The association also suggested student density in schools be reduced through a variety of measures. Wood said they did not offer specific solutions, keeping their language unrestrictive to include options like class size tweaks or altered school schedules.

Park Avenue Elementary experienced some of the reshuffling of classes and cohorts between orientation on Thursday Sep. 10 and classes resuming the following week.

PAC member-at-large Heidi Olson said students returned to their 2019/20 class groups on Thursday but after the weekend, new groups were necessary.

“Monday, they go all go to their “new classes” we got Sunday night and classes were all high population…25, 26 even 29 to a class because of the division that was taken away,” Olson said.

Projected enrollment numbers in the summer meant the district reduced the number of divisions at Park Avenue.

The higher than expected return to school meant a 15th class could be accommodated, forcing a reorganization again on Tuesday.

Olson estimated between 40 and 50 kids were impacted by the shuffle in grades 1-5.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the province announced information on school outbreaks would be added to the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website for easier access.

There are currently no school outbreaks reported in the Island Health region.

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