The Ford government must expand the paid sick leave program immediately. There must be a plan to address staff absenteeism, which we can anticipate given the impact of isolation requirements on the health care sector and the spread of Omicron and Rapid Antigen Tests must be provided to students and education workers to minimize absenteeism and learning loss HEPA filters should be installed in all classrooms and public/shared spaces in schools N95s must be available to all education workers Įveryone working in, or attending a school or campus who is eligible and can be vaccinated safely, should be vaccinated Īccess to booster shots should be prioritized for education workers "We want to welcome students back to school as quickly as possible, but schools must be safe, and we need to see more than a press conference or two to be assured that they are.”ĮTFO's demands to ensure schools are safe to reopen include: To ensure this is the last time we need this emergency measure, we will continue to call on the Ford government to invest in adequate infection prevention measures," Brown said. “We recognize the hardships that come with another round of remote learning. She added that the need for a return to online learning could have been avoided had the province "funded and implemented safety measures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic." We share the belief that in-person learning is the best and most equitable way for students to learn, but it must be safe.” “Last week’s decision came dangerously close to risking the safety of students and ETFO members. “As the pandemic surges, the Ford government must invest in infection prevention and control measures that ensure in-person learning can continue safely and sustainably,” ETFO President Karen Brown said in Monday’s statement. The union welcomed the premier’s decision, saying that the decision made in today’s announcement is safer than the one made last week, but that additional action is still needed. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), the union representing public elementary school educators in Ontario, issued a news release following the announcement on Monday, renewing calls for “safety measures and a sustainable return to in-person learning.” The government had said at the time that the two extra days after the winter break would give schools extra time to provide N95 masks to staff and to deploy 3,000 more HEPA filter units. The two-week delay for in-person learning is a strong shift away from the government’s original announcement a few days ago when Ford announced the return-to-school date would be pushed by just two days, from Jan. The province added that free emergency child care will be provided for school-aged children of health care and other eligible frontline workers. School buildings would be permitted to open for child care operations and to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely. 17, subject to public health trends and operational considerations. The premier said that publicly funded and private schools will move to remote learning starting Jan. Most students have been home for the past two weeks for the holiday break. “I know this isn't the news anyone wants to hear, but with a new variant the ground is shifting every single day.” “As a result, we will be delaying the return to in-class learning for the next two weeks and continue with virtual learning for the duration of the time away.” “We need to prioritize the continued health and safety of our kids and our school staff,” Ford told reporters on Monday. Premier Doug Ford announced the school closures during a news conference on Monday morning about the government’s new restrictions to curb the rapid spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant. 17 due to the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases across the province. The Ontario government has announced that students will not return to classrooms and will instead learn virtually until Jan.
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