Lecce, Moore pen joint letter to parents ahead of return to class: ‘We are taking nothing for granted’

Ontario’s Education Minister and the province’s top doctor confirmed in an open letter to parents and guardians that school-based vaccine clinics are being launched as millions of students and staff return to class.

Stephen Lecce and Dr. Kieran Moore said the government is aware of how critical in-person learning is “to the mental health, well-being and academic success of Ontario students.” The pair confirmed that millions of more rapid antigen tests had been delivered to students and staff in publicly funded schools.

Lecce and Moore say each student will be going home with two rapid antigen tests over the coming weeks.

“We are taking nothing for granted. Health and safety in our schools and child care settings remain a top priority, and we continue to monitor to ensure that every precaution is taken to protect children, students and staff and to keep our schools and child care settings as safe as they can be,” they wrote in the letter.

“To further protect schools, the Ontario government will provide rapid antigen tests for students and staff in public elementary and secondary schools, along with children and staff in child care settings.”

The education minister adds that more than 3.9 million rapid antigen tests are reserved for school boards this week, with additional tests delivered the following week.

School-based COVID-19 vaccine clinics will be held 

Lecce and Moore say for select schools holding vaccine clinics, parents will receive a form in the coming days offering the opportunity to “safely and conveniently provide public health units [with] the authority to vaccinate their child at a school-based vaccine clinic.”

“We encourage everyone who is eligible for vaccination or booster to get vaccinated to further protect students because this is the best way to keep schools open and as safe as possible,” the pair wrote.

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“It is natural to have questions about the vaccine. Parents or guardians with questions can reach out to the SickKids COVID-19 Vaccine Consult Service at www.sickkids.ca/vaccineconsult, or 1-888-304-6558 to book a consultation.”

Last Wednesday, Lecce held a news conference and said Ontario’s return to in-person learning plan would focus on rapid testing, improved ventilation, and more access to vaccinations and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board, among others, announced a return to class on Wednesday after a winter storm wreaked havoc in southern Ontario.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce speaks at a press conference for the Ontario Government at St. Robert Catholic High School in Toronto.

Educators brace for challenges as in-person learning resumes amid Omicron

In the Sudbury area, where classes resumed on Monday, a teachers’ union representative said the most significant challenge so far has arisen from instructors being forced to isolate at home after completing a screening tool because either they or members of their households had symptoms.

Liana Holm with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) said staff had been called away from preparatory work to cover homeroom classes with absent teachers. The Rainbow District School Board has deployed occasional teachers, Holm said, but there weren’t enough available to cover all the absences.

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“I keep saying I hope I’m wrong and everything goes really well, but we’re only into it in day two, and the stress in the system is showing,” Holm said in a Tuesday interview from Sudbury.

An emailed statement from the board said it was too soon to determine trends related to absences but confirmed that it used the pool of occasional teachers to cover absences “not unlike any other week.”

The highly-contagious Omicron variant has overwhelmed PCR testing resources in Ontario to a point where most teachers and students cannot access those tests due to policy changes.

The province is no longer reporting information about COVID-19 cases in schools but said it would share information about rates of absence — for any reason — starting next week.

Teachers’ unions have warned families to brace for disruptions from anticipated staff shortages. The province has said classes might be amalgamated or temporarily moved remotely for days at a time.

With files from Holly McKenzie-Sutter of The Canadian Press