LILLEY: Ford government to delay March break

Toronrosun.com
Feb. 10, 2021

Seems like a pretty common-sense idea to me: the Ford government is getting set to push back March break until later in the year over concerns about COVID-19 and specifically, the U.K. variant.

An announcement is set for later this week when Education Minister Stephen Lecce will announce the details.

There are three options being discussed, including moving the spring break week to April, delaying it until May, or simply ending the school year five days earlier in June. The decision is being complicated by opposition from teacher unions that want the break to go ahead as scheduled.

Discussions with people in government, the education sector, and public health field, all point to concerns over people gathering and socializing if March break proceeds as scheduled.

Parents can’t easily fly off for a week in Florida, not without quarantining and possibly facing a big hotel bill when they get back, but they could flock to ski hills in places like Blue Mountain or Calabogie.

It’s this sort of behaviour the government is trying to head off at the pass by delaying the break.

When they do make the announcement, we can expect Lecce and Premier Doug Ford to lean heavily on the public health advice they’ve been given. I’m pretty sure Ford will say he’s just “listening to the docs!”

Whether he’ll be listening to parents remains to be seen. Haggard and frustrated over classes conducted over video conferencing, plenty of parents are excited about the return of in-class learning that begins this week and next. Those parents don’t want another break in the school calendar.

Others will want March break to happen as scheduled, citing the mental health benefits. Both sides have a valid argument, but in the end, Lecce and Ford will listen to the public health officials who will call for keeping kids in class and delaying the break.

The provincial science table met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a number of matters, including the return to school and March break. Members of the table have expressed concern that the break week will fall right in the middle of the time period when they fear the U.K. variant will surge.

For most of the province, the break is scheduled for the week of March 14, the very moment modelling suggests the UK variant will take off. The hope is that if the break can be delayed until April, or even better, May, it will help control the spread of the variant.

While no one expects COVID-19 to go away, the spread will lessen as the weather gets warmer, and we are all able to spend more time outside.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath doesn’t agree with delaying the break, arguing students, teachers and parents are all exhausted.

“I am calling for March break to go ahead. People need a break, for their mental and emotional well-being,” Horwath tweeted on Monday.

Not surprisingly, the unions representing Ontario’s teachers oppose the possible delay of March break. Then again, they also opposed the return to school in September, online learning during the shutdown last spring, online learning after the Christmas break, and the return to school now.

Essentially, they seem to oppose anything this government proposes.

If the goal is keeping kids healthy and the majority of public health experts agree that children are less exposed to COVID-19 in a structured school setting, why wouldn’t the province delay March break?

It’s the right thing to do.