Ontario schools switch to virtual learning amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Students across Ontario logged into virtual classrooms at the start of a new school term on Wednesday, sparking renewed frustration for some families who said their children were struggling with distance learning.

The Ontario government announced the switch to online education on Monday, just days after announcing the resumption of in-person classes. As a wave of infections caused by Omicron threatens the healthcare system, the province has said virtual learning will run until at least January 17.

READ MORE: Ontario reports 2,081 people with COVID in hospital, 11,582 new cases

Ottawa parent Stephanie Mitton said she had lost count of the number of times her eight and 10-year-old daughters had to switch to e-learning since the start of the pandemic. She feared this cycle would present learning difficulties and mental health issues, just like previous school closures, adding that her eldest daughter called the return to distance learning a ‘mental health killer’ .

“It’s such a stressful time,” she said. “We’ve done it before and we know how difficult it is.”

Mitton added that she made the difficult decision to switch from full-time to part-time work last spring to help her youngest daughter, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, navigate the learning curve. line.

Ramona Gnanapragasam, a single mother with a five-year-old daughter in kindergarten and a 10-month-old son in daycare, said she has proactively told her employers that she may have to change her work schedule if schools were online.

Now that they have done so, she helps her daughter with school during the day and works mostly nights in her jobs in retail, long-term care and in a nursing home – her mother and her. sister help look after the children while she is away.

READ MORE: Ontario Moves Schools to Online Learning, Bans Indoor Dining, Issues New COVID Capacity Restrictions

Having to juggle work and take care of her children left her with no downtime, she said.

“That mental break that you have, especially for any single parent with kids, isn’t there,” Gnanapragasam said.

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“It’s expensive because you want to give your child the best love and care, but when you can’t pull yourself together, it affects them too. “

Guelph, Ont. Mother Christina Crowley-Arklie, whose four-year-old son was starting virtual learning for the first time on Wednesday, said she was “disappointed” with the government’s decision to abruptly switch to apprenticeship in line.

“We understand that the physical safety of our children is the number one priority, but there is all this conversation about the mental health of our children and our students… and I feel right now that is in jeopardy,” he said. she declared.

Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada, a charity that advocates for children, said school closures have a “devastating impact” on children’s education as well as on their physical and mental health.

READ MORE: Ontario Hospitals Prepare for Growing Omicron Wave Pressure

Austin said there should be a “laser-like focus” to reopen schools and that governments should involve children more in shaping policies that affect their lives.

Teachers’ unions call on the province to implement a series of measures to ensure a safe return to classrooms, including prioritizing booster injections for staff, making rapid tests available all in schools, improving ventilation and continuing to report and research the number of cases in schools.

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Karen Littlewood said there was widespread frustration with having to come back to school online, but there is a “slight sense of relief ”to in-person learning delayed as many of the required security measures are not currently in place.

“(Teachers) are, like many of us, reluctant to have to connect again because the best way to learn is face to face,” Littlewood said. “The government did not do what it needed to do to make sure schools are safe. “

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Littlewood also noted that some educators have returned to schools in person to teach students with high needs and said they have expressed fear as the number of COVID-19 cases has skyrocketed.

Education advocacy group People for Education said school staff were struggling to adjust to the online hub given the “rapid pace of change and the lack of time to prepare.”

“It had a negative impact on the staff who worked well beyond their usual responsibilities as educators to try to help in these capacities. There is a balance sheet which goes beyond the professional framework and which transcends the emotion ”, declared the group.

READ MORE: Critics ask Ontario to allow COVID testing for children in day care centers, resume reporting of cases

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said it was a “shame” that the province has yet to implement the safety measures many demanded, including prioritizing vaccines for educators and improving ventilation in all classrooms.

“We have now fully entered this (pandemic) for almost two years and the government still has not done what was necessary,” she said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said 3,000 HEPA filter units had been purchased for schools, in addition to more than 70,000 units in schools at the start of September, and more than 2,000 new employees are expected to be hired “to support student safety and learning.” “

“Our government will continue to invest in quality ventilation and PPE, while ensuring that students receive live teacher-led online learning during this time and full access to academic and mental health supports.” , he said in a written statement.

2:32Ontario Schools Switch to Distance Learning Amid Omicron Wave

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