Sask. school-specific reopening plans outline assigned entrances, cohorting of students

Saskatchewan schools are expected to release their individual plans Wednesday for reopening to students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic beginning Sept. 8.

In its last back-to-school update, the Ministry of Education said, "School-specific operation plans are currently being finalized and will be posted online and communicated to parents and students no later than August 26."

The school-specific plans will follow on the heels of broad, division-wide plans released earlier this month by the province's 27 school boards. Some boards, like Regina Public Schools, have since released updated versions with new details, such as recess times. 

"School division plans are developed as a set of broad guidelines that all schools within the division would follow. School-specific plans are developed to address the operations of a particular school," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said Tuesday. 

"Where a division plan might speak to developing strategies for limiting congestion at doorways, a school-specific plan would identify the sets of doors that groups of students at that particular school would use."

Parents want smaller class sizes

Lindsay Sanderson, whose five-year-old son William is supposed to start kindergarten at Ernest Lindner public school in Saskatoon on Sept. 8, said she wasn't expecting "anything earth shattering" from the school's localized plan. She said she already spoke to the principal "in-depth" about what the school is planning. 

Sanderson said that, except for two days of outdoor play, she will likely homeschool William because of the planned size of his in-person classroom.

"He would have 20 to 24 students and it's impossible to keep their hands off things," she said Wednesday, as William repeatedly reached for a news microphone. "As you can see, a five year old moves. He wants to touch everything and be in everything."

Lindsay, who said she had to fold her small business in order to care for her son, wants to see smaller class sizes of around 15 students. 

"I don't think keeping children socially distant is feasible, but we can keep them safe if the groups are smaller. They can stay in their space and if there's fewer of them, they can have smaller bubbles."

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan government confirmed its share of newly-announced federal funding for safely reopening schools will be $75 million.

• Sask. gets $75M from federal government to help school divisions with reopening

Sanderson said she'd like Saskatchewan's money go toward reducing class sizes and increasing spending on janitorial services. 

Yvette Clark, whose 13-year-old son Hayden is entering Grade 8 this fall at Holy Family Catholic School in Saskatoon, said it's important to have the school's own plan in hand now.

The plan includes assigned entrances, door-locking procedures after school starts to keep outsiders from entering and cohorting of students to ensure they have as little contact with others as possible. 

It also details how students who become sick at school will be isolated and how the school will be sanitized five to six times a day.

Clark expressed concern about the logistics of the requirement — standard among many Saskatchewan schools — that parents immediately pick up a child who is sick at school.

"My one concern is both parents are working. Sometimes that emergency pick-up plan is going to be a bit tricky to co-ordinate," she said.

Unlike Sanderson, Clark will be sending her son to school.

"Social interaction is really important, especially in Grade 8," Clark said. 

She agreed that the federal money given to Saskatchewan should be used to reduce class sizes.

Getting the plans out to parents, public 

Each school under the Regina Public Schools banner will release its individualized plan on the school's website, RPS spokesperson Terry Lazarou said Tuesday.

"Many, depending on availability of reliable mailing lists, will be emailing to parents/caregivers. Some may be sharing on social media," Lazarou said of the division's 55 schools and three associated schools. 

"There will be a lot of information and schools are in the best position to direct it to their own unique communities."

Schools in the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, Regina Catholic Schools and Saskatoon Public Schools divisions will also release individual school plans on school websites, those divisions said Tuesday. 

"School plans will use the division Return-to-School Plan as their foundation and add information that will be unique for each school, such as: revised schedules, what doors different grades will use, drop-off/pick-up procedures, internal flow of students, cleaning schedules, designated rooms to isolate ill students, etc." said Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools spokesperson Derrick Kunz.

For Saskatoon Public Schools, "the majority of each school plan will be similar and based on the overall information, protocols and guidelines that the school division has already shared with families in its Parent and Caregiver Reopening Plan," said spokesperson Rodney Drabble. 

"What will be different from school to school are school-specific things such as how entrances will work (e.g. certain grades enter through specific doors), traffic flow within the school, how student arrival and parent drop-off will work, etc. The school plans are tailored to suit the specific facility, needs, enrolment. It's information that will be most applicable to parents who have students enrolled at that specific school."

Sean Tucker, a professor at the University of Regina's faculty of business who researches workplace safety issues, said he's glad to see an emphasis on mask use, sanitization and training in the plans released so far, but said future plans should provide more detail about classroom and gymnasium ventilation.

"The original Regina school division plan simply stated, 'The school division will investigate installation of technology to improve indoor air quality.' The updated plan provides the same statement. Ventilation should be a priority as we move indoors in the fall and winter," Tucker said. 

Ventilation will be important to preventing transmission of the virus should infection rates increase, Tucker added. 

Making sure it's safe to work

He said he would also like to see an explicit role laid out for public health officers and Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety officers visiting schools to ensure compliance with reopening plans and occupational health and safety legislation. 

"It's one thing to have a safety plan on paper, and another to effectively put the plan into practice. The Ministry of Education and school divisions are putting a lot of responsibility on school principals and staff. Independent inspections would be beneficial and boost confidence in school safety among students and teachers."  

Nicole Schlotter, who has two children attending Arcola Community School, is the co-chair of its school community council (SCC).

She said that while it's a bit of a relief to finally see the plan after months of waiting, how parents will respond will depend on the family.

"It's kind of a mixed bag," she said when asked what she's hearing from other parents. "You could ask five of us and we could have five different answers." 

She said parents outside of the SCC are inquiring about what to do and what their options are. Some of the highlights of the Arcola plan include mandatory masks for students from Grades 4 to 8 and a priority on outdoor learning.

"We're only, what, 10 days away now — two weeks away —  from getting the kids back into school, so people are still trying to make decisions," she said.

Jackie Christianson, an educational assistant who works at a Regina public school and who also chairs CUPE Saskatchewan's education workers steering committee, said that if staff feel their working conditions are unsafe, they should first bring their concerns to the school's occupational health and safety committee or the principal. 

"If you still don't feel safe, then you may have a right to refuse [to work]," Christianson said. "I would suggest that they go in and talk to their physicians.…  You can ask for an accommodation."