With a week left to go before most students head back to class, the provincial government has detailed more changes to help with a safe return to schools.
Education Minister Tom Osborne made the initial announcement yesterday on VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly.
Among the announcements:
- Masks will be mandatory in the classroom for students in Grades 7 to 12 where face-to-face physical distancing of one metre cannot be maintained.
- Additional buses will be in place by the end of September to ensure that all students who are eligible for school busing will have access. The province will provide cleaning supplies to busing contractors.
- Seventy substitute teachers will be hired on term contracts for specific schools. 15 administrators (principals) will be added, along with 25 guidance counsellors.
- Up to 25 custodians will be hired, and custodian hours will increase to seven hours per day.
- Public exams scheduled for January have been cancelled and the department is looking at whether or not June exams will proceed.
The province says discussions are continuing on issues like ventilation, among other things.
Details on the new initiatives will be released at a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
Ottawa Slates $26-Million Funding
The federal government last week provided the province with up to $26-million in additional funding to ensure a safe return to school. The province says additional positions will be funded under the announced support package.
Just over $13-million is being provided up-front with the remaining $13-million to be provided once the province completes a report on how the first half of funding was spent.
NLTA Shows Support at Rally
You can add the Newfoundland and Labrador Teacher’s Association as another supporter of Safe September NL’s rally.
President Dean Ingram says that every aspect of a community comes together through the school. He says there is no choice but to get the back-to-school plan right – there is no do-over.
Ingram says the cost of getting it wrong is too high for teachers, students, parents, and the entire province.
