Parents across Simcoe County are reacting quickly to today’s announcement that all elementary and secondary students won’t be returning to in-person learning until Wednesday, Jan. 5 — two days later than expected after the holiday break.
Dr. Kieran Moore, the province's chief medical officer of health, delivered the update Thursday saying the delay will allow time for school officials to prepare for new public health measures also announced today.
The measures announced earlier today include providing non-fit-tested N95 masks for staff in schools and licensed child-care settings as an optional alternative to medical/surgical masks. Supply of high-quality three-ply masks is also strongly encouraged and free for children and students returning in January.
The two-day extension of the Christmas break has left many local parents scratching their heads, however.
Barrie resident Lori Ryther says she's relieved the Ontario government will be sending students back to class next week, even if she doesn't necessarily understand the rationale behind the delay.
"Although I feel it is absurd and unfair to students, teachers and parents alike to delay the return to school by two days with such short notice, I am thankful Ontario came to the right decision. That being a return to in-person learning for those who want it. Omicron and related variants are here to stay," said Ryther, whose eight-year-old twins are in Grade 3.
"With vaccinations and safety procedures in place, it's time we start accepting its presence and move towards co-existence," she added. "As a mother of two school-aged children, I think I speak for most families in saying for the good of everyone’s mental health, our children belong in school."
Springwater Township resident Candice Manastersky says the decision to return to school Jan. 5 puts some parents in a bind.
“It’s frustrating that this comes with such short notice, leaving parents to organize work from home or child care,” said Manastersky, who has two elementary-aged children — one in Grade 5 and the other in Grade 1.
“I don’t see the need to delay school for two days just so they can hand out N95 (masks) to staff. If they’re going to delay it, why not a full week to ensure kids and staff are healthy and symptom-free before returning and have all the necessary safety precautions in place with the masks and HEPA air filters," she added.
Suha Abdullah also says she's curious about the logic behind the decision.
“I think a lot of people were looking forward to sending their kids back to school, especially after a long two weeks of holidays. We are all exhausted, to be honest," the Springwater mom said. "Then, we are all hit with this news that just doesn’t make sense. … There’s no clarity and it’s frustrating. Are they going back to school on the fifth or are we going to be hit with another extension? Who knows.”
Abdullah, whose children are in grades 1 and 3, said overall she would definitely appreciate some direction moving forward in order for parents to be able to plan in advance.
“For my family, when the kids are home, you’re basically spending all day with them. You have to entertain them, you have to help them with online school. It’s not like we don’t have to take into consideration that people can just make last-minute plans for care,” she said. “It’s mind-boggling.”
Rebecca Ryan, a Bradford mother of four with kids between 4.5 months and eight years old, said the delay doesn't sit well with her.
“How can I confidently send my kids back to school when the government has basically said 'Oh well, it is what it is'," she asked. "The system has failed our children.
“I am lucky enough to be able to work from home now, but that was not the case when schools closed down last year," Ryan added. "I finished my mat leave and was essentially backed into a corner to quit my position because I chose to extend my kids online learning.”
Kristina Rodgers, who is also a Bradford resident, says enough is enough.
“We have to start living our lives again and stop feeding into this. This is destroying our children. Enough of the lockdowns and closing of schools. Stay home when sick," she said.
Arron Gibson, a Collingwood father of two, says he's frustrated but not exactly surprised, either.
"The fact that this government can’t get it together enough to communicate a plan earlier than a week before the schools open is in no way surprising," he said. "This far into this, if they had bothered to listen to any parents or scientists they would know delaying by a few days is nowhere near as effective as decreasing class sizes and enforcing vaccine mandates for all teachers and staff in all schools.
Stacey Cooper, whose son is in Grade 8 at Le Caron in Penetanguishene, said she wasn't surprised by today's news, considering the rise in COVID-19 cases and what is happening in other provinces, but did say she was a bit surprised the delay is only two days.
“Seeing that the reason is to allow for the school boards to get the schools ready, that made sense to me,” she said. “For us, it has very little impact, because our son is in Grade 8 and self-sufficient enough that we can work from home without much disruption. But I am glad that he will be returning to in-person (learning), because online was not the best learning environment for him.”
Cooper believes the measures announced today will be sufficient to help curb cases seen at local schools.
“Our school has been really amazing through the whole thing, ensuring the students are safe as much as they can," she said. "It's a small school but we have had cases, but they are always contained and the students that are not impacted can continue learning.”
Midland's Miranda Cook-Shulze, who is a mom to three young children aged seven, four and three, said she's thankful the omicron variant is leading to fewer hospitalizations than the delta variant, but she’s not confident the same will end up being true for young kids.
“With three children under six and none fully vaccinated due to lack of access, I feel unsafe sending my children into an environment where a highly transmissible virus will certainly circulate,” she said.
Cook-Shulze believes anyone who is able to keep their unvaccinated children at home and meet learning goals though home-based learning activities should do so.
"I also think that the government should provide support to families choosing to home-school. In doing so, these families put less strain on the system and keep schools safer for children of medical workers," she said.
Testing changes made today will allow a rapid test positive result to stand without a PCR confirmation, so any staff or children who test positive with a rapid test would be assumed to have COVID-19 and must follow isolation requirements.
Only low-contact indoor sports and "safe" extracurricular activities will be permitted in January.
— With files from Natasha Philpott
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