What we know so far about the reported return to classrooms next week

Sources say students will return to classes Jan. 17 - the earliest possible date after two weeks of remote learning amid an ongoing COVID-19 surge.

The news was first reported Monday night by the Toronto Star.

But details are murky. Local school boards say they learned from media, not the government, that they would reopen next week.

In a Jan. 11 letter to families, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said it had not yet received official notification ... to reopen school on this date."

Education Minister Stephen Lecce is expected to announce details Wednesday around the return to school.

Hamilton's medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, said in an email she would like to see schools reopen this Monday."

Our position that schools should be the last to close and first to open has not changed," she said.

Here's what we know so far about the reported return to classrooms next week:

COVID-19 protocols

The province is dispatching masks - non-fitted N95s for teachers and three-ply cloth masks for students - to Ontario schools for when in-person learning resumes.

Local boards say they have received a supply of N95s and are distributing them to schools.

Hamilton Catholic board chair Pat Daly said the board has received a shipment of 140,000 from the province - short of their order for 200,000 - plus 7,500 they purchased.

The public board has received a shipment of 182,000 N95s.

Both the public and Catholic boards have ordered three-ply cloth masks for students.

New school guidance from the province says that only students and teachers who show symptoms of COVID-19 will have access to PCR tests when classrooms reopen.

Tests, which will be available in schools, will only be used in limited circumstances."

Ontario schools will no longer report cases of COVID-19.

It is unclear what, if any, changes there will be to other COVID protocols, such as screening, distancing and cohorting. Whether sports, music and extracurricular activities will resume next week is also uncertain.

Ventilation and air quality

Hamilton school boards have a patchwork of ventilation systems and air purifiers, some rated better than others.

Where ventilation is poor classrooms have high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to purify the air. All kindergarten classes also have portable filters.

Hamilton school boards are set to receive an additional 95 high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, as part of the 3,000 promised to Ontario school boards by the Ministry of Education.

School boards said Monday it is unclear when they will arrive and how they are to be used in schools.

Several infrastructure projects to improve air quality at Hamilton public schools are still under construction after the province extended completion deadlines by up to two years. At the Catholic board, projects were completed before the original Dec. 31, 2021, deadline.

Transition between remote and in-person learning

Hamilton's public board plans to offer students an additional opportunity to transition from in-person to remote learning.

Elementary students can request the change starting on Thursday. High school students can switch to eLearning courses with the help of a guidance counsellor.

Student vaccination rates

The province had hoped two weeks of remote learning would allow for more time to get vaccines in arms. But pediatric vaccination rates in Hamilton have slowed, particularly among the youngest group.

Of those ages five to 11, who became eligible for immunization in November, 42 per cent have received a first dose - the majority in the first two weeks - compared to the province's nearly 47 per cent. Five per cent are fully vaccinated.

Eighty-four per cent of youth ages 12 to 17 have had a first dose and 80 per cent are fully vaccinated.

At a briefing Monday, Richardson said the youngest group is one they're looking at with concern."

Ontario has not added COVID-19 to the provincial list of mandatory vaccines for students in schools.

Staffing shortages

The province announced Monday it would allow retired teachers to work more days - nearly double what was previously allowed - to address staff shortages in schools across the province.

Local school boards have faced staffing shortages throughout the pandemic. In October, the public board reported average daily vacancy rates of 15 per cent for teachers and about 25 per cent for support staff.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com