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By Veronica Beltran

Back to school

Differing opinions on SD57 back to school re-start

Aug 29, 2020 | 7:57 AM

PRINCE GEORGE–Individual school districts across the province announced their back to school plan on Wednesday (Aug.26), and there are some differing opinions when it comes to how our local district is planning on heading back to school.

Joanne Hapke, President of the Prince George Teacher’s Association says that she believes the return to school should have been done differently. ” Kids have been out of school since the middle of March and to bring everybody back, all at once, into the same confined space, I don’t believe is the appropriate way that we should be doing things,” said Hapke in an on-camera interview.

“Teachers want to work with students, we are excited about a return to school but we are looking for is a safe return to school. We have questions, the ministry is not providing answers. How can it not be safe to be side by side in a grocery store but it’s okay for us to be within a classroom? And I know one person has said, children should not be punished for an adult disease, and I say, you are correct, I work for adults and those are the people I am protecting with my statements.”–Joanne Hapke, President of the Prince George Teacher’s Association

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Mother and Chair of the District Parent Advisory Committee, Andrea Beckett, says that she is happy with the re-start plan released by School District 57. “I am really happy with the solid plan that they’ve developed. We were involved in the review of the plan and were allowed to have sufficient input, which was taken,” said Beckett over the phone to CKPG News.

Beckett mentions that the plan is a district-level plan and how it’s implemented from school to school may vary. When asked if the re-start plan will have an impact on her life as a parent, Beckett says she doesn’t think so but mentions that it is important to have conversations with children about what going back to school will look like.

“Blocking some part of your day…whether it’s in the bathroom getting their hair brushed, teeth ready…making the most of those opportunities to have those discussions and to be honest, and not scare them. Show them that this is a time for learning and a time for engaging and asking questions and being curious.”–Andrea Beckett, Chair of the District Parent Advisory Committee

Hapke says that for her, the ideal back to school plan would have seen 50 per cent of students attend schools on alternating days or times. “It goes against everything that the PHO has said since the middle of March, physical distancing is our number one factor to prevent the spread of COVID, and that cannot happen in a classroom when you are welcoming back 20-30 students.”

She is advising all teachers to wear masks or face shields, at all times, and to practice physical distancing in the classroom, something Hapke says is hard to do, “that is hard because that is not what teachers are used to doing.”

“Teachers are with the kids. Teachers are side by side supporting children from K through Grade 12. But I am saying at this time we need to re-think how we are teaching because we need to keep ourselves safe within this restart plan.”–Joanne Hapke, President of the Prince George Teacher’s Association

Hapke says that teachers need to ensure they are taking precautions in their classrooms because at the end of the workday they go home to their families and also have to keep them safe.

Students will return to class across the province on September 8.