Ontario could reopen high schools before elementary schools, sources say

As the Ontario government determines how to safely get students back in classrooms, high schoolers could return earlier than children in elementary school due to their higher vaccination levels, sources told the Star.

Insiders, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, say Queen's Parks wants as many of the province's two million students as possible back to in-person classes by Jan. 17.

While more than 90 per cent of teenagers are vaccinated, fewer than half of children aged five to 12, who only became eligible on Nov. 23, have had their shots.

As parent and student frustrations grow with yet more time spent learning online, a government source said we know the vaccines work, so we could see high schools reopening for fully vaccinated students on Jan. 17."

However, the source added, with elementary schools, it might be a bit longer. Parents will be unhappy, but, again, we have to be safe" because more eligible children between the ages of five and 12 still need their shots, whereas teens have been able to get their shots since the end of May.

Ontario students have spent more time learning online during the pandemic - 26 weeks and counting - than anywhere else in North America.

School was set to resume after the holiday break last Monday for most students, but was initially delayed by two days after chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore announced that N95 masks would be distributed for all staff, and that the number of HEPA filter units used to improve ventilation in classrooms would be increased to 73,000 province-wide.

But four days later, Premier Doug Ford said with a tsunami" of COVID-19 cases resulting from the highly transmissible Omicron variant meant that students would not return to classrooms until Jan. 17 at the earliest.

We all understand that there's negatives and positives to keeping our schools closed. I, like all of my colleagues in public health, hope that we can have our children back for in-person learning as soon as possible," Moore said.

It is certainly our hope that we can adhere to the 17th."

Across Canada, most provinces have delayed the return to school until next Monday.

Quebec, however, has scheduled in-person learning to begin Jan. 17.

On Thursday, health units in the Greater Toronto Area started providing priority vaccination clinics for education staff, a strategy that unions and school boards had repeatedly called for.

Before the holiday break, some 22.65 per cent of schools reported COVID-19 cases, and 24 of 4,800 schools were closed because of it.

Of 48 school outbreaks, 40 were in elementary schools and eight were in secondary schools. (There are four times as many elementary schools as high schools in Ontario).

The president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association said she has not heard that high schools could reopen first, but we all know that there is safety in being vaccinated."

Cathy Abraham said boards would hope to have conversations about that before it happens."

However, she added, if that's what the medical professionals say works, then we'll work with that. We've said all along that it is a priority for us for kids to be physically in school."

Patrick Daly, head of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, is hopeful schools can reopen in two weeks.

He and Abraham said upgraded masks and HEPA filter units have already been delivered to some school boards.

The longer-term impact on children has to be weighed into this," he said, referring to an extended period of online learning.

As for high school students heading back to class first, Daly said he was unaware of such discussions, but I would be concerned about young children being out of school longer. That would concern me, and I think there would have to be an awfully good rationale to proceed that way."

Pediatrician and University of Toronto professor Dr. Anna Banerji said the province should look at mandatory vaccinations for students.

We need the kids vaccinated and safe to have them go back," Banerji said. If parents choose not to vaccinate their kid in the middle of this wave, then it's safer for that kid to be learning online."

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy