Questions about back to school? Sudbury education director gives answers

Many parents are trying to decide whether to send their children back to school for in-class learning, or do at-home online learning instead.

In Sudbury, parents whose children attend schools in the Rainbow District School Board have until Friday to make that choice. The board recently unveiled its plan around what school will look like.

The board's education director, Norm Blaseg, spoke on CBC's Morning North and took questions from parents about it.

"We are certainly living in a world of uncertainty at this point and we're trying to create a climate of certainty," he said."That continues to be a challenge because this seems to be evolutionary. It's very fluid and changes from day to day."

Here are some questions people have put forward on the back to school plan during the COVID-19 pandemic:

What's being offered?

Students in the Rainbow Board can take classes online or go to school for in-class instruction. That policy applies to boards across Ontario.

How will in class learning work?

Elementary schools will open for in class learning five days a week. Students will be divided up into groups and stay with those people for the day including breaks and lunch.

Secondary students will have a different timetable and take four credits in their first semester. The week one, the students will have a 150 minute period of one class, followed by lunch. They'll then have a second 150 class. Students will take their third and fourth subjects in the opposite weeks.

What about online learning?

For elementary students, a teacher will be assigned to work with them and other students in that grade.

"You will not be with your regular homeroom teacher," Blaseg said.

And for secondary students, synchronous learning will take place.

"When we say 'synchronous learning', what we're saying is that it's live," he explained.

"So that means, if your class starts at 8:30 a.m. if you were to attend school it will also be synchronized [with online learning]. So if you're at home, you'll see the same thing, live, what's happening in your class."

What about screening for COVID-19?

Blaseg says the onus will be on parents to screen their children for COVID-19 symptoms before sending them to school.

"It's really important that parents are honest in their assessment of their children before they send them to school," he said.

The screening questionnaire includes questions about symptoms the child may have.

What if my child gets sick at school?

Blaseg says the sick student would be immediately isolated from the other students.

"Think about the old nurse's room if you will," he said. "So each of those rooms will have kits with sanitizer, masks and other personal protective equipment. That will be provided for anyone who becomes ill at school."

The parent or guardian will then be contacted to pick the child up as soon as possible.

"We need to know updated contact numbers," he said. "We want to expedite the process as fast as we can."

He says once the kids are picked up, parents should contact public health for advice on what to do next.

"Public health will determine whether or not a student can return," he said.

"Typically, it would be based on the premise that they are symptom-free and ... they do not have COVID-19."

What if there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in my child's school?

Blaseg says the school board has been working closely with public health on this issue.

"If there is a confirmed case, Public Health Sudbury & District will take responsibility and take over the management of the illness and the contact tracing," he said.

The school will share attendance records with public health for contact tracing purposes. And Blaseg says it will be up to the health unit to decide who needs to quarantine.

What happens if you have to close a school due to COVID-19?

If that were to happen, they would likely shift to online learning for all students, Blaseg says.

The expectation is that students would return to that school once the quarantine period is lifted.

What will happen when students have to go to the washroom?

Cleaning staff will be paying extra attention to washrooms as they are high touch areas.

Blaseg says teachers are asked to be mindful about when they allow students to take bathroom breaks.

"There's a big difference between a washroom that holds two and a washroom that holds 10 [students]," he said.

"We need to make sure we manage that appropriately."

What about masks?

Masks are mandatory for children in Grades 4 and up and are recommended for all children.

"We would be looking at all children wearing masks as much as possible," he said.

If a student doesn't have a mask, the school will provide them one, but Blaseg says it is expected that parents purchase masks for their children.

What about children with special needs?

Blaseg says students with special needs who are in an intensive support program, will be given the option to attend school everyday.

"We do have protocols in place to take extra precautions," he said.

"We know that parents who have children with special needs, they're susceptible. So we want to make sure that we take every precaution necessary to ensure that children are protected."

He says that could include staff wearing extra PPE to protect students.