Elementary school teachers worry about big class sizes during COVID-19's 4th wave

Although parents, teachers and students are excited to return to the classroom in less than two weeks, concerns over a delta variant-fuelled fourth wave of COVID-19 continue to dog that enthusiasm.

"I'm excited to be in the classroom with my students again." said Dayna Munro, who teaches kindergarten at Woodland Heights Elementary School in London, Ont., with the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB).

Although double vaccinated, Munro still has reservations.

"I think my biggest concern is the fact that we have such large class sizes right now," she said. "This year, we're all sitting around 28, 30 individuals in our classes, which is difficult to be able to social distance kids of that age.

"My son is in high school and last year, he had 15 students as a max [in his class]," said Rhonda White, who teaches Grade 8 at Davenport Public School in Aylmer, another school with the TVDSB, the fourth largest public board in Ontario.

"Those kids are able to be vaccinated, however, in elementary schools, we have younger students who aren't able to be vaccinated, but we have these really large class sizes," White said.

Health Canada has approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for youth born in 2009 or earlier.

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White is hopeful most of her 26 students in Grade 8 this year will be vaccinated, but she'll also be interacting with Grade 6 students when she teaches French. 

"They're right on the cusp of being able to be vaccinated," said White, who is also double vaccinated.

Safety in the classroom

The TVDSB is maintaining indoor masking, frequent handwashing and access to hand sanitizer at all its schools this fall, although it has not yet adopted a vaccine mandate for staff and students who are eligible.

"I do believe they should have a choice," said Munro, whose school saw one COVID-19 case last year. "But I also believe those individuals should be given online positions to teach and not necessarily be teaching within the school.

In elementary schools, we have younger students who aren't able to be vaccinated, but we have these really large class sizes- Rhonda White, Grade 8 teacher, Davenport Public School, Aylmer, Ont.

"I know the government talks a lot about all the funds that they've given to schools for air filtration systems, but not every class is getting one," said Munro. "Educators are going to do what we can to ensure the safety of our students even if it means taking money out of our own pockets."

Munro said one of her teaching friends even purchased her own portable air filtration unit.

There were multiple COVID-19 cases at Davenport Public School, said White, leaving her to wonder if policy inconsistencies will lead to more outbreaks this fall.

"Students are eating lunch all together in their classroom with their masks off. We have students that are in different cohorts travelling on buses to school together."

Health unit response to back to school

For its part, the Middlesex-London Health Unit is encouraging all employers to adopt vaccine mandates.

"If you're an employer and you're looking to bring people into any facility, having that expectation of vaccination will be absolutely critical to making that environment freer from the potential of outbreak," said Dr. Alex Summers, the associate medical officer of health.

"I'm concerned about the trajectory of the fourth wave. I think we are going to see cases continue to climb," he said. Still, he said, getting children back in the classroom is important, and while younger students aren't eligible for the vaccine right now, it's expected to be coming.

"The rumblings are later on this fall, potentially early winter. It's not going to be in September," he said.