Parents wary of return to school seek guidance on home-schooling

For Eve Mendelovitch, the odds of sending her kids back to school this fall are slim to none.

"There's nothing concrete that would make me feel comfortable to risk my kids going to school and catching COVID and bringing it home," said Mendelovitch, who is immunocompromised and lives with her 73-year-old mother.

The government announced in June that students in preschool to Grade 9 would be headed back to classrooms. While classes will keep regular ratios, children in subgroups of up to six students won't have to stay two metres apart from each other.

But Mendelovitch isn't convinced that schools can successfully enforce physical-distancing measures.

"Kids, within five minutes, they forget," she said. "I don't really foresee them being able to keep at a distance that's needed."

Parents want practical advice

Mendelovitch says she wants the government to provide detailed lesson plans and hold virtual classroom sessions for parents considering home-schooling their kids due to the global pandemic.

"We have a template of what to follow, but it doesn't get into the nitty gritty," Mendelovitch said. "I don't feel like the Ministry of Education or the school boards are really participating and giving the parents the proper guidance as to what is available to us and what we should be doing."

"I am now taking on the role of being a teacher. I don't know what I'm doing."

Since the COVID-19 lockdown, more than 500 parents have asked to join the Québec Association for Home-Based Education (AQED) Facebook group, a noticeable spike in interest, says president Marine Dumond-Després.

"We've received a lot of messages from families asking about the legal steps to start home-schooling kids, where to buy learning materials and even how to juggle telework and teaching," she said.

The AQED website lists educational resources that are available to the public. Volunteers also connect families online so they can form a support group and share tips.

Home-schooling isn't always an option

Maya Iwaskow, community co-ordinator of Répit Providence — a nonprofit organization offering respite housing in Montreal's east end for children from struggling families — says some parents haven't wrapped their heads around back-to-school plans yet.

"Although they might have concerns, they don't necessarily have the option to home-school their kids for many reasons," Iwaskow said. "We're perpetually reshaping to figure out how to better help these families."

In a statement, the Ministry of Education told CBC that with the COVID-19 situation improving, children must return to their studies in September.

"School attendance is mandatory because it allows us to reach all students, especially those who are vulnerable, and ensure they have the right to a quality education."

The ministry says parents may choose to teach their children at home as long as they follow all the government rules.