‘Higher than anticipated’ families opt for remote learning but York Region school board still gathering data

There is also no figure on the percentage of York Region board’s teachers who are vaccinated

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 30, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

There are many questions that remain unanswered as the date for schools to reopen looms.

So far, York Region District School Board’s spokesperson Licinio Miguelo said staff is still “analyzing the learning model survey form responses and allocating appropriate resources.”

The board received some flak after announcing that it would go hybrid for the first time, more than a year and a half after the COVID-19 pandemic has sent its shockwaves worldwide.

“Once this analysis is complete, we will share the information of those opting to learn in person and remotely,” added Miguelo.

However, Shameela Shakeel, an active parent behind the Facebook group of Families and Educators for Safe Schools in York Region shared some - unofficial - figures online.

After meeting with YRDSB director Louise Sirisko and associate director, schools and programs, Steven Reid, Shakeel said, “The proportion of VIRTUAL students is as follows, secondary - nine per cent virtual, primary - 15 per cent virtual, which is higher than 10% anticipated.”

“Also, in some schools in the east part of York Region, virtual students make up 40 to 50 per cent of the population,” she added.

ON VENTILATION

When asked about ventilation, Miguelo said, “We are working to make ventilation information for all schools available publicly on our website.”

“Classrooms with mechanical ventilation will be fitted with MERV13 filters, fresh air rates will be increased to the maximum the system can provide and a two-hour purge will occur each morning before staff and students arrive and two hours after staff and students leave.”

As for classrooms without mechanical ventilation, isolation rooms and kindergarten classes, they “will be provided with portable HEPA air filter units.”

ON VACCINATION

The percentage of teachers who are vaccinated is still not known.

“In accordance with direction from the Ministry of Education, this information will be gathered and school-board level data will be made available,” Miguelo said.

On Aug. 17, Ontario announced that vaccination is mandatory for high-risk settings, which includes schools.

“Keeping a low rate of infection in our communities and protecting our most vulnerable is how we can keep our schools, our businesses and our social settings as safe as possible while minimizing disruption,” said Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore.

Moore also said that those who “work in higher-risk settings are required to be fully vaccinated, by providing a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to certain groups who have a decreased immune response and by expanding the eligibility to the children born in 2009 or earlier.”

In York Region, about 83.8 per cent of adults 18 years and older have received one dose, while 78.7 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated with two doses.

The remaining concerns are the hybrid model which would make it difficult for one teacher to educate students both online and in person, large class sizes, and the mixing of cohorts during lunch time for high school students.

“My biggest concern with the high school model is that the whole thing about having cohorts doesn't really make sense because the kids are all together at lunchtime and for all extracurricular activities,” said Shakeel, citing that’s not a board issue but the ministry’s.

“They're (ministry) telling boards that they can only have two courses at a time in order to keep kids in cohorts, but then the kids are not cohorted at lunchtime,” she added.

“They're all going to be at Pizza Pizza together. And there are thousands of them together.”

The mother, who has a daughter in elementary school, said classes are “back to pre-pandemic.”

“There's no possibility of physical distancing, and you will have some kids wearing masks properly and some not.”