Extended school closure ‘predictable,’ says Hamilton teachers’ union rep

Hamilton's elementary schools will remain closed to in-person attendance for two more weeks as the province extends its lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario.

Schools across southern Ontario are now poised to reopen on Jan. 25 instead of Jan. 11, as initially planned.

Chief medical officer David Williams announced the new lockdown measures on Thursday, indicating that rising cases of COVID-19 among young people informed the decision.

We have to defer in-class attendance for the next two weeks because we want the schools to stay open when we're able to reopen them," Williams said.

The government announced the closures midway through December, shortly after schools let out for the holidays, prompting Hamilton's boards to prepare for districtwide remote learning when schools reopened in the new year.

Since Jan. 4, nearly all students enrolled at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and the Catholic board have participated in online classes, with the exception of some students with special needs.

During this period, child-care centres, recreational skill-building programs and home-based child services have remained open.

The decision comes as cases are rapidly rising in southern Ontario. Hamilton reported 132 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday with 1,622 active cases. There are 27 outbreaks ongoing across the city.

The closures put families in a difficult situation, as some have embraced the opportunity to keep their children safe at home, while others - especially those with younger children - have struggled to balance their work life with their children's education.

Throughout the holidays, the school boards delivered nearly 6,600 remote-learning devices to families who had previously indicated their children would not be equipped with a computer should schools be shuttered. In the first days back to class, students and staff alike grappled with their new iPads and various technology as they became acquainted with learning at home.

Daryl Jerome, president of the local bargaining unit for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Association, described the newly imposed lockdowns as unfortunately, predictable due to the failure of this government to set a benchmark of what level of community spread is appropriate to close or reopen schools."

Without this, the government will continue with these 11th-hour announcements which result in parents, myself included, who are completely exasperated with this failure of leadership," Jerome said.

Several teachers are still working inside schools this week to teach students, he said.

The latest announcement does not address this and I am very concerned for the ongoing health and safety of these members in light of the steadily increasing case counts," he said.

Despite rising case numbers in Hamilton, schools have not been identified as a cause of community spread. The number of cases in HWDSB had doubled by the time schools closed for the holidays in mid-December, however the board reported very few outbreaks - meaning that the vast majority of school-related cases were transmitted off school grounds and elsewhere in the city.

Schools have been safe," said Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce in a statement on Thursday.

Yet rising community transmission and a spike in youth COVID cases over the holidays put that all at risk ... We're working to get our kids back into class safely."

More to come ...

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.