The Hay River District Education Authority began welcoming students back to school for in-person learning this week, but parents appeared to have mixed reactions to the decision.
Mark Harris, chair of the education district, said in a Jan. 20 news release that Princess Alexandra School, Harry Camsell School and Diamond Jenness Secondary School would all be reopening on Jan. 24.
Harris assured in the statement that it was safe to send kids back to school based on recommendations from the NWT’s chief public health officer.
“We recognize that the shift back to in-person learning may be met with mixed emotions,” he said. “It is important to note that our schools have strong health and safety measures in place, including symptom checks, classroom bubbling, masking requirements, and refraining from high-risk activities, such as high-intensity sports. These factors contribute to in-person learning for our students.”
Harris added that the decision came from the need to balance “risk tolerance and risk mitigation with risk” and that multiple benefits will come from allowing students to return to in-person learning. Among them include improved classroom learning, social connection with peers, and healthy food programs.
At-home learning programs will not be provided if parents choose to keep their kids at home, but school work will be available for students who are in isolation, according to Harris.
Elissa Wallington, who has three older kids heading back to Diamond Jenness Secondary School, said students should have never been ordered to learn from home in the first place.
“We are putting all kids at a disadvantage over something that hardly affects them,” she said. “Our family had Covid and it was not any worse than a really bad cold or flu that we’ve had in the past.
“If you’re immune compromised it could affect you and (you should) take precautions. Otherwise let’s get on and live our lives.”
She also said that negative impacts on mental health from her kids being away from school is a big concern.
“The mental health of our teenage kids has suffered greatly,” she said. “I’m not sure about the younger kids because right now I have no younger kids in school.”
Not all parents agreed.
Henry Braun said he’s not happy with sending his two children back to Harry Camsell and Princess Alexandra schools.
Both, he added, are immunocompromised.
“Honestly, I feel they should leave the schools closed for longer,” he said. “They are closing town hall to the public along with other public locations due to the continued rising numbers in cases but they want to reopen the schools and expose our children to the Omicron variant. In my opinion, that is extremely careless.”
Messages were left with Princess Alexandra/Harry Camsell principal Carolyn Carroll and DJSS principal Lynne Beck, but they didn’t respond prior to publication deadline.
Commission scolaire francophone des TNO sent out a similar news release on Jan. 20 stating that students at École Boréale would be returning to in-person learning starting on Jan. 24.
Kátł’odeeche First Nation
Chief Sunrise Education Centre was also expected to reopen Monday. Chief April Martel was not pleased with the decision as residents on the reserve have been struggling to respond to increased Covid rates in recent weeks. A related state of emergency was declared last week.
Martel has been in contact with the premier, the chief public health officer and the minister of Education, Culture and Employment to continue at-home lessons.
“I’m advocating that they keep the school closed because an outbreak is going to happen if they open up the schools and start sending people back to work,” she said.
Martel said she has been satisfied with the quality of education students have been receiving through remote-learning, particularly with work packages dropped off by the school. She said internet access can be improved and she’s seeking funding to help improve online access so students can have a better experience.
“Internet access has been so successful but we do have families that are on low income that don’t have access to internet,” she said. “We wrote a proposal to (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) for internet (funding support) for the community. We’re still waiting for a response and I haven’t heard anything to date yet.”
In the meantime, the chief is working closely with Chief Sunrise Education Centre principal Deborah Reid to ensure students receive the best education possible during the pandemic.
Reid stated that she could not address issue at length, but said that her school will be prepared to offer a welcoming atmosphere for students returning.
“We are really looking forward to seeing the students and resuming our in-class studies,” she said. “It’s not surprising that the mental health of the students and their families have been stressed with the closure. We also recognize that there are mixed emotions about reopening but we will be doing our best to ensure safety in the school (while) following the protocols for masking, student bubbles, etc.”