When I first contemplated this article, it was going to be from the perspective of “after the pandemic.” Unfortunately, the pandemic appears to be far from over and in some areas, record infections are becoming the norm. With schools in the United States opening soon and just over a month for Canadian schools, governments are trying to provide some direction and school districts are making multiple plans given the ever changing impacts of COVID-19.
I GET the desire of government officials to have a priority of re-booting the economy. This pandemic has been disastrous in so many ways and the need to get people back to work and money flowing is understandable. But if the economy is the only set of lenses that we are looking through, we’ve lost what is most important in our society…the people! And I will be even more blunt, as some government leaders demand that schools return to “pre-pandemic” conditions, we’re not thinking very highly of our children.
It seems contrary to logic that we are being told to mask up (which I agree with), practice social distancing, avoid congested areas, limit seating capacity in restaurants and then make schools return to near normal operations. I truly believe that most government officials (especially those in Canada) don’t want to put students, educators and those in and around the school community at risk but strong leadership, thoughtful direction and planning and…here it comes, additional funding to support this transitional time are a must. I recognize how this last requirement of additional funding is difficult to swallow given the amount of dollars already expended and the lost revenues during this pandemic. But, let’s be reminded of the words of Hippocrates, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
These are desperate times and so we need to support measures that will foster a safe environment in schools and limit (as much as possible) the roller coaster of emotions being felt by system administrators, school personnel, parents and the general community. I know that most school divisions desire their own autonomy to make decisions but this might not be the best time. We may need more uniformity in some areas during this ongoing pandemic. For example, Plant Operations and Maintenance Funding should be increased to support additional custodial staff in order to implement enhanced cleaning protocols. Although this is generally enveloped money, many divisions squeeze out available dollars to support in-classroom teaching and supports. While some divisions may have surplus dollars that could be used for this, others may have practiced a “spend today’s dollars on today’s students” budgeting approach.” Without funding, divisions and ultimately schools can become “haves and have nots.” In education systems that believe in success for ALL students, winners and losers because of funding should not be acceptable.
We know that parents will run the gamut on sending their own children to school or not to supporting mask wearing or not. There will likely be a flux in student attendance over the first months or longer depending on infection and death rates. Schools will need to be able to support both in person and online education and those dollars must be available to provide public confidence and ensure the continuity of high quality learning. Staffing is going to be an added cost this coming year since infections typically target adults and not children. School staffs are inadvertently going to get sick from the coronavirus or other illnesses and be required to stay home. In the previous school divisions I’ve worked, substitute or supply teachers were not always readily available and that could potentially become a grave issue. Alternate solutions may need to be explored to ensure learning continues at a high quality.
The bottom line is that governments and teachers’ associations/unions need to stop puffing out their chests like bantam roosters and start working together. Every shred of professional leadership literature speaks of the importance of collaboration and when we are in these times (and really all times) COLLABORATION is a must. Turf wars cannot be fought, egos need to be put on hold and rude and antagonistic comments need to stop…PERIOD! We are in debt and will continue to go into debt due to this pandemic…that is a fact. But let’s not make decisions that revolve solely around finances lead us in the planning for a return of students to school. We can do better! WE MUST DO BETTER!
