Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange --Supplied file
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
The Alberta government has mandated masks for students in Grades 4-12 and all teachers in the province.
The government held a press conference early Tuesday, with education minister Adriana LaGrange and chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw making the announcement live on YouTube.
The pair announced that students and staff would be required to wear a mask in common areas, hallways and buses. Children will not have to wear a mask in classrooms when sitting a safe distance from others. Masks are optional for Grades 3 and under.
Medicine Hat Public School Board superintendent Mark Davidson says the announcement does not come as a surprise.
“I was not surprised that the ministry went with some indication on how they want masks to be used in schools,” he said. “I think government has been facing a significant amount of pressure from throughout the province about masking. That’s why this didn’t surprise me.”
LaGrange announced that the government would be providing all students, teachers, bus drivers and support staff with two free reusable masks. Teachers, bus drivers and support staff will also be given one reusable face shield. Masks are mandatory, while face shields are not. Face shields do not act as a replacement for masks.
The government is also providing 466,000 litres of hand sanitizer to distribute to schools based on student population.
Schools will also be given two contactless thermometers.
Davidson says the news doesn’t change much for Hat public schools, but the board had made purchases of certain items without knowing the announcement was coming.
“Unfortunately we’ve already purchased a good deal of what the government has decided to supply for us,” he said. “We purchased sanitizer for all of our classrooms already.
“I guess this will help us down the line to reduce costs because we won’t have to immediately replace what we’ve purchased.”
Schools are set to kick off at the beginning of September with no limits on class sizes. Davidson says there will be no change in music class structure, as wind instruments and singing will not be allowed during the upcoming school year.
As for physical education, Davidson says activities that allow for safe distancing will be the primary focus. He added there is still no word on sports leagues.
With regards to homemade or store-bought masks, Davidson says they will be allowed.
“Students can bring their own masks to school,” he said. “How they’re made or where they come from will not be an issue.
“We don’t intend to police the masks students are wearing. We care when they are not wearing them.”
One concern for parents and guardians is children with conditions that make mask wearing difficult or impossible. Davidson says accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.
“If you have a medical or another documented reason that mask wearing does not work, then you will be permitted to be in school without a mask.”
Davidson says the hand sanitizer provided by schools will meet provincial standards.
“It’s not going to be overly strong or harsh,” he said. “We took the standard that the Alberta government sent out in terms of the percentage of alcohol and so on. We met that standard and we didn’t go looking for the harshest one possible. We aimed to meet the minimum standard to keep students and staff safe, while still meeting the standard.”
With masks now mandatory for students over the age of 10, Davidson thinks more parents will be choosing the learn-from-home option. He added that the public school board will be ready to teach kids virtually, with high-quality curriculum.
“I think we will see more parents choosing to keep their kids at home,” he said. “I think we’re already getting an indication that families will choose this at-home learning in order to avoid masking for their children.”
He added that teachers who cannot risk being in a classroom will be good candidates to teach through an online format.
“We think there will be enough families using the online learning that we will be able to assign teachers responsibility between early learning all the way through Grade 9,” he said. “They will run strong, very well rounded programming with daily contact, direct instruction and a schedule.
“We will have teachers who will volunteer to fill these online positions because of their health, and we will do our best to offer strong programming.”
PRSD
Prairie Rose School Division superintendent Roger Clarke says he sees mandatory masks as a positive, but knows it will be a challenge for some.
“I see a positive here, but there will be challenges,” he said. “I know it will be tough for students and staff to wear them all day, but our concern is safety.
“Whatever we can do to keep people safe, and we will need to educate students how to properly use a mask.”
Clarke says he is pleased that the government is looking at PPE and schools, and that it will be supplying masks to students and staff. He says people should not be scared by the news.
“I don’t see this announcement as a response to a worsening condition, I think it’s a response to learning more about COVID-19 and more about effective practice.”
As for split classes, Clarke says they can definitely happen.
“As long as it’s the same cohort of children, I don’t see why that couldn’t happen,” he said. “I think we need to work more diligently about not grouping kids necessarily. For example, we’ll sometimes group classes once every week or two so a teacher can go teach something else. We’ll need to do less of that.”
Homemade or store-bought masks will be allowed. Schools will have non-reusable masks on hand for students and staff who forget masks.
Clarke says the mask announcement does not change anything for the school board’s budget.
“We’d already taken a lot of steps with regard to masks and grouping students,” he said. “We aren’t getting more funding for the next school year, but we’re able to use certain funding for COVID-19 relief now. The minister talked today about using infrastructure dollars for COVID-19 relief.
“We’re thankful that we won’t have to supply all of the masks and all of the sanitizer required.”
Clarke says singing and wind instruments will be banned from music classes for the year. As for physical education, activities that encourage physical distancing will be focused on.
MHCBE
The Catholic school board did not have anyone free to comment on the mask announcement by press time.
The board sent in the following statement to the News.
“As per today’s announcement, MHCBE will be ensuring that all government regulations are followed, including the use of masks in schools, as we prepare for re-entry. Our school division is grateful for the funding allocated for reusable masks, face shields, hand sanitizer and contactless thermometers provided by the government of Alberta. We will continue to take direction from Alberta Education, CMOH and health officials as we near the start of the 2020-21 school year. Our priority is the safety and wellness of our staff and students as well as continuing to provide high-quality education to all of our students.”
