Maze calling for more action to limit Omicron spread in schools

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) has called on the province to help make schools safer for students and prevent having to go online.

On Wednesday afternoon, STF president Patrick Maze made several requests on behalf of teachers and school staff, calling for N95 masks to be provided to all staff and students; mandatory masks and proof of vaccination for all school activities, including extracurricular; cohorting of students where this is not already in place; an updated definition of “fully vaccinated” that includes booster shots; and vaccine eligibility for all students turning five this year.

Maze also called for the immediate reinstatement of the education sector response planning team.

More “tangible” support is needed for schools and teachers at this time, Maze said, especially given that school is “the only place people must gather in higher numbers with fewer layers of protection.”

Currently, schools are dealing with significant staffing shortages as a result of COVID. Maze says many teachers were calling the STF ahead of the return to school, reporting positive rapid antigen test results and inquiring as to the procedure they should follow.

Now, Maze said teachers and principals are filling positions they wouldn’t normally fill because there aren’t enough staff in place in schools. That means teaching more classes at the expense of preparatory time and breaks and conducting contact tracing.

Ensuring schools are still properly staffed to be adequately run is the responsibility of school divisions. Maze said he would be very concerned if students were not being appropriately watched and cared for. He’s also worried about staff burnout immediately after the holidays.

“It’s completely unsustainable, what we’re doing right now,” he said.

The STF previously called for a two-day delay to the start of the winter semester to give schools time to assess their staffing situations, place students into cohorts, and plan for the term ahead given the new concerns brought by the Omicron variant.

It is also currently difficult to procure substitute teachers to replace those absent staff members. Maze said one school reported losing eight staff members one day — and only gained two substitute staff members — while another lost sixteen.

“Despite everyone’s best efforts, social distancing, reduced contacts and proper mask-wearing is more difficult to achieve in a school setting,” Maze said.

That delayed start was not granted.

During a news conference Wednesday morning, education minister Dustin Duncan said he heard the request, but said the province “didn’t feel a two-day pause to the resumption of school … would’ve provided value or benefit.”

Maze predicted the situation in schools will only worsen in the coming weeks. The province said Wednesday that interruptions to school will be inevitable with COVID cases still rising.

While in-person learning is “vital and important,” Maze said this would be the preferred form of education delivery that must be balanced with the concerns schools are facing and their ability to conduct in-person classes.

While chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab has urged people in the province to slow the surge of Omicron cases, Maze said there aren’t enough measures in place in schools now to do so.

Further to other concerns with in-person classes currently, Maze said inclusive learning has students with higher needs who might be at a higher risk of contracting COVID in the same classrooms as other students. Maze said if safety can’t be guaranteed to those students and to others, in-person learning will need to be reconsidered.

However, it’s hard to put a tangible number in place that would indicate when students should go online. Maze said that will be for school divisions to determine.

He said the government is currently relying on vaccinations and rapid tests — tools that do not take immediate action against a surge like that of Omicron.

Currently, Maze said the STF is not in talks with the government about contingency plans for schools returning to online learning.