The B.C. Teachers’ Federation is calling for a delay to the planned return to public schools next week as the COVID-19 Omicron variant spreads across the province.
On Tuesday, BCTF president Teri Mooring said that the union had never, until now, advocated for online learning instead of in-person classes.
“We have been advocating for schools to stay open, with all the safety measures, but we see this as a very different scenario right now,” Mooring said. “Even though teachers may not get really sick or need to be hospitalized, they still won’t be able to attend work if they have symptoms, and that’s the concern.”
Mooring said that with too many sick teachers and education assistants, schools would be forced to close due to lack of staff. There were 1,785 cases of COVID-19 reported in B.C. during the past day.
“The case counts we are seeing are the tip of the iceberg. We know the testing sites are being overwhelmed and we know that Dr. [Bonnie] Henry says this is a different pandemic now, and schools are a reflection of the communities that they are in. At this point, what we are hearing is that even though they have been really careful and even though they are doubly vaccinated, our members are becoming infected.”
Mooring said the union had expressed its position to the B.C. Ministry of Education and was calling for a delay of a few weeks. She said some teachers could remain in class to support vulnerable and diverse learners, as was done in March 2020 when the ministry delayed the resumption of in-class learning in schools after the spring break.
The union is also advocating for free N95 masks for all staff and students and for the implementation of a rapid testing regime at schools.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said the current plan was for the resumption of in-person learning in the new year, with enhanced safety measures. “In-person learning is crucial to the social and emotional well being of students,” the ministry said in a statement.
The provincial K-12 Steering Committee, which includes the BCTF, will meet today “with a goal to finalize enhanced safety measures for schools.”
