Ontario students will return to class next Monday

Ontario schools are set to reopen on January 17, but educators are calling on the Ford government to make sure it is done safely. Kevin Misener reports.

By Lucas Casaletto

Students and teachers will return to in-person learning on Monday of next week, the province confirms.

This will include both elementary and high school students.

“As planned and previously announced students will return to in-person learning on Monday, January 17th, 2022,” the premier’s office said on Tuesday.

Premier Doug Ford — who warned of an approaching “tsunami” of COVID-19 —  announced the shift to remote learning on Jan. 3, less than a week after his government insisted in-person classes would resume after only a two-day delay.

That planned return to class was expected no earlier than Jan. 17. Ford said that the date would be reassessed based on public health indicators.

“These two weeks will provide much-needed time for more vaccines and boosters,” Ford said at the time of the announcement.

“It’s more time for additional public health measures to blunt the rapid rise in cases. I know online learning isn’t ideal, but above all else, I want to provide students and parents with certainty, not the turmoil of school closures because not enough staff are available to teach our kids.”


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On Monday, it was revealed that retired Ontario educators would be allowed to work more days this school year as the province aims to address pandemic-related staff shortages before students return to in-class learning.

A written statement Monday from Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the new agreement with the Ontario Teachers’ Federations that allows retirees to be re-employed for 95 days instead of 50 would help with the eventual return to in-person school.

Lecce, who has not spoken publicly since late December, promised shipments of N95 masks were sent to all school boards and school authorities as of Monday.

“We need staff in order to continue providing live teacher-led remote learning and safely operate our schools when students return to in-person learning,” Lecce’s statement read. “That is why we have now secured an agreement with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation that will deliver access to thousands of teacher-qualified educators that will help keep schools open and safe.”

The decision to keep schools closed longer was made as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has pushed hospitals to the brink of maximum capacity with rising ICU admissions.

Several health experts and school boards called on the Ford government to utilize the time off wisely and provide a safe learning environment for students and staff. This prompted the head of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) to say they would continue to encourage public health units to vaccinate children as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Toronto physician, Dr. Michael Warner, has said that there will be a “revolving door of absenteeism” that will continue to disrupt children’s education as teachers fall ill and more kids get sick.

“I am pleading with the government to do something over the next ten days to make schools safer. There are lots of people doing their part, and it is time for the government to do something different than what they have planned already,” Warner said in a video posted to Twitter five days ago.

The Ontario Teachers’ Federations said in a statement that “more robust health and safety measures” — including social distancing, regular virus testing, smaller class sizes and “appropriate masks” for both staff and students — “would also encourage new graduates and existing occasional teachers to make themselves available.”

Last week, the government began accelerating booster shots for school and child-care staff to protect children, staff and families from COVID-19. Ten vaccine clinics were held this past weekend in Toronto — including one at the Toronto Zoo — and Mississauga, Vaughan, Pickering, Hamilton, Oakville and Brampton.

The Ford government announced back on Jan. 1 it would no longer collect COVID-19 case numbers from schools and child care centres, citing new testing guidelines.

The province has since scaled back into a modified Step 2 of its COVID-19 roadmap. Those health measures — which will remain in place until Jan. 26 at the earliest — include the closure of gyms and indoor dining and further restrictions on capacity limits at retail stores.


With files from Holly McKenzie-Sutter of The Canadian Press

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