Mountain divide: In Hamilton schools, in-person enrolment may depend on location
The number of students attending a Hamilton school in person during the COVID-19 pandemic may depend on where it's located, school board data suggests.
At Earl Kitchener Elementary School in the Kirkendall neighbourhood in the lower city, for instance, nearly 90 per cent of families opted for in-person learning this year.
In contrast, just up the Mountain from Kirkendall, at Holbrook Elementary School in Westcliffe, only 57 per cent of families opted for in-person learning - the remainder choosing to study from home.
Based on data provided by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), the Spectator found that schools in Hamilton's lower city were more likely to have higher rates of in-person attendance, while the schools with the highest rates of remote learning were often located on the Mountain and in the Stoney Creek neighbourhood.
The Spectator analyzed data demonstrating the number of students enrolled in remote classes and in-person classes at every school within Hamilton proper. Of the 10 schools with the highest rate of in-person attendance, six of them were located in the neighbourhoods close to Hamilton's downtown - areas like Strathcona, Kirkendall, Corktown. Conversely, nine of the 10 schools with the highest rate of remote attendance were located on the Mountain and in the Stoney Creek area.
There are several reasons why families might opt for in-person or remote attendance. Socioeconomic status, fears of COVID-19, parents' employment, child learning abilities and access to the internet all play a role in determining whether a child will spend the semester in front of a computer or in a brick-and-mortar classroom.
Education advocates and researchers have paid special attention to areas with lower incomes and marginalized communities who may be more severely impacted by the spread of the pandemic.
Dawn Danko, chair of the HWDSB, said the board is aware that schools in Hamilton's downtown tend to have more in-person attendance, though there are a variety of explanations behind it.
At Earl Kitchener, for example, Danko suggests the higher in-person attendance rate may be related to its much-coveted French immersion program, which initially planned on offering French classes solely in classrooms, prompting families to register their children for in-person classes late in August.
But Danko also acknowledged that socioeconomic status could play a role in families' decisions.
We do know that we have a number of high-priority schools in the downtown core and that does relate to socioeconomic status and barriers that other families might face when their children are coming to school," Danko told The Spectator.
When you think of those families' situations - whether they're new refugees, or people in transitional communities downtown - they may have a single parent working out of the home or both parents fully employed at work, or shift work that doesn't have predictable hours. Can they support younger children working from home remotely?"
The difficulties facing families who depend on in-person learning could be exacerbated in January as schools begin the second semester online. On Monday, the province announced that both elementary and secondary schools will be shut down to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, with elementary reopening on Jan. 11 and secondary reopening Jan. 25 - at the earliest.
Most students, regardless of circumstance, will be required to attend classes remotely, with some exceptions being made for students with special needs. Danko says the board is planning to distribute remote learning devices to at least 6,000 students in the HWDSB who don't have access to a computer.
We're always concerned if we're not able to offer our in-person programming, especially considering what gaps that creates for students who may have additional challenges when they're not coming to school. It may impact families financially if they don't have access to care for their children and have to stay home from work," said Danko.
We understand we have to balance the safety of staff and communities with the needs of our students."
Hamilton's downtown is where the bulk of high-priority" schools are located as well, often overlapping with low-income and minority neighbourhoods.
Local school boards, including the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, pledged extra support for the schools earlier in the semester, providing them with additional public health nurses and funding.
What's clear is that, for students who are already dealing with challenges, COVID-19 has created even more of them," said Annie Kidder, executive director for People for Education, a Toronto-based non-profit.
Kidder notes that Toronto schools have seen the opposite trend: in low-income neighbourhoods, families are more likely to keep their kids home, opting to avoid highrise elevators and public transit.
Those families seemed to be saying, We already know we're at higher risk, we don't want to add more risk to this by sending our kids to school.'"
Those findings make Hamilton's counterintuitive, Kidder says.
Ultimately, we have to wait for more research to come out to know what the connections are between schools and socioeconomic status during COVID-19," she said.
Jacob Lorinc's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about education.