The provincial government plans to have students back in school this fall—but to do so will require extra resources, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association.
Education Minister Brian Warr says a plan will be revealed in the coming weeks to get in-class instruction rolling again for the province’s 65,000 school-age children.
The NLTA says if students are to safely return to the classroom, class sizes will need to be reduced, and school resources will need to be increased. That means more staff, more resources, and more financial support will be needed from government.
“We have been told by the Chief Medical Officer for Health, we have been told by the Minister of Health and we have been told by the Premier that physical distancing is our best defense against COVID-19 and a possible second wave. If this is true for restaurants and barbershops, it is just as true for crowded classrooms.”
“We have been told by the Chief Medical Officer for Health, we have been told by the Minister of Health and we have been told by the Premier that physical distancing is our best defense against COVID-19 and a possible second wave. If this is true for restaurants and barbershops, it is just as true for crowded classrooms.”
-Statement from Dean Ingram, President of the NLTA.
Ingram says what they really need to know is what kind of priority the school system is to the provincial government.
That, he says, is why the NLTA has suggested—since even before the pandemic—that there needs to be a review of the teacher allocation model, which was committed to almost a decade ago.
Ingram says, “If the goal is 100% attendance, if the goal is to comply with physical distancing rules to keep our children safe, if the goal is to avoid another shutdown of school, government needs to invest in the education plan for September and they need to let us know soon.”
Ingram states that class size now matters more than ever.