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COVID testing to begin in schools in Toronto, Peel, York, Ottawa

Mar 31, 2022 , , , , by shlf

The provincial government will start asymptomatic testing of students and staff in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa in a move that could shed some light on the spread of in schools.

But experts and parents say a lot depends on how the program is rolled out in the four Ontario hot spots.

Despite increasing rates of community transmission of the disease, “our remain safe,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Thursday.

“The risk within our schools reflects the risk within our communities,” Lecce said at a press conference at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, alongside Premier Doug Ford. “We believe as we see the risk rising in our community, we cannot hope for the best. We’ve got to continuously act.”

The voluntary school testing — among the first such programs in Canada — is meant for students, staff and families over four weeks in areas experiencing the highest number of active cases. But Lecce said if health officials recommend “that it should be expanded or we should augment the list, we will continue to follow that direction and implement it swiftly.”

He added, “We do believe that this program is going to just only further help protect schools” and keep them open.

Transmission of the disease in schools has been a polarizing topic throughout the pandemic, with government and health officials saying schools are safe while some parents, educators and medical experts continue to call for more targeted testing to understand where cases could be missed.

Surveillance testing, in which groups of people without symptoms are tested to get data, has been used in U.S. schools in , and .

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and the University of Toronto, said if the province’s announcement is “truly a surveillance program” then it’s a “great idea to see how much COVID is actually circulating in schools.”

If designed well, such testing could actually “detect infection early to prevent an outbreak,” he said. But “obviously, like anything else, the details are important.”

Rachel Huot, an organizer with the Ontario Parent Action Network, said there’s “no question” such a program will help, but added, “It’s just, how strong will it be?”

It is “late” to be starting this testing now, she said, after the province first announced it in August. “We sort of passed a really critical point in our schools, and it’s really light on the details about what it will look like.”

Testing was already under way Thursday at the first participating school, Thorncliffe Park Public School, in one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods in Toronto, where about 300 of 750 students were tested.

The board is now looking at other schools to participate.

Three Toronto Catholic schools have been selected, and testing will run until Dec. 18.

Speaking before the announcement, Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious disease specialist at Michael Garron Hospital, said the Thorncliffe program is a way to break down barriers for community members, but also a way to understand “what is happening with school transmission,” since kids often of COVID-19.

“There’s so much talk and I don’t think we have as much evidence as we’d really like,” McCready added.

Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, has said the recent resurgence in cases in the city does not appear to be driven primarily by the reopening of schools.

Meanwhile, news of stable education funding grants this year was welcomed by school boards, given that some have had than expected because of the pandemic.

“We were very, very concerned about this and we are really pleased they listened to our concerns and froze funding,” said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

Boards would otherwise have lost “a significant amount of money across the province” because students — many of them in junior kindergarten — were expected to attend classes but didn’t, she added.

The Toronto District School Board alone was looking at a $41-million shortfall in its per-student funding.

Ford also announced the province will provide an extra $13.6 million in COVID funding to schools in regions where cases are edging up — Durham, Halton, Hamilton and Waterloo.

But NDP education critic Marit Stiles called the province’s testing announcement “a half-measure.”

“Some students in some regions may be able to get tests,” she said, noting the program lasts only four weeks.

“Ford’s still trying to cheap out on testing students, teachers and staff, and that’s not good enough,” she said.

It will be up to boards to determine where and how to conduct the testing, but rapid tests will not be used.

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

May Warren is a Toronto-based breaking news reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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These Ontario school boards are blending in-class and online. Will others follow suit?

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The York Catholic and Dufferin-Peel Catholic school boards will soon be moving into a blended model of online and in-person learning – news that has sparked a new set of worries for many parents and educators across the regions.

This new model combines in-person and remote learners into the same class under the direction of the home school classroom teacher.

— Katie Taylor (@sinksships)

Both school board notices cite concerns over operational challenges as a primary reason for the switch. 

“This hybrid model has numerous benefits including keeping remote learners in their home school with their friends, maintaining physical distancing in classrooms, and offering a seamless transition from in-class learning to remote learning or vice-versa,” York Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) interim director Mary Battista wrote, Oct. 7. 

“We recognize this is a change in learning modes,” Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s (DPCDSB) director of education Marianne Mazzorato said in the board’s release on Oct. 8. “This change is necessary to ensure all students have access to the programs offered in DPCDSB and to provide flexibility regarding learning modes in this time of uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The YCDSB will begin implementing the new model on Oct. 14, followed by DPCDSB on Nov. 2. 

Upper Canada District School Board already rolled out a , through which classroom teachers use specific technologies approved by the board, to facilitate a more collaborative experience between students learning face-to-face, and those learning remotely.

Stephen Sliwa, Director of Education at Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), said this model “provides students with the ability to connect with someone from their school that they may already know and stay connected with their peers during the school day.”

He added that the model also ensures flexibility for families who can move from one mode to another, when needed.

Liz Stuart, provincial president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said the amount and frequency of school reorganizations they have observed this year is unprecedented.

“This is a direct result of the Ford government’s lack of planning and funding for a safe school reopening,” she said, adding that many parents are uncomfortable with the current safety precautions.

“As a result … school boards are implementing impractical plans that do not meet anyone’s needs.”

Caitlin Clark, spokesperson for education minister Stephen Lecce, said the Ontario government believes in providing and supporting parental choice to decide what type of learning is best for their children.

“School Boards decide how they deliver quality learning for students in class and online,” Clark added. “We have set the highest standards in Canada for remote learning. For example, students will learn at least 75 per cent of the instructional day in a live synchronous setting, as well as being provided with a daily schedule or timetable.”

She said the Ontario government has dedicated approximately $24 million to YCDSB, $33 million to DPCDSB and $13 million to UCDSB to reopen their schools.

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said ETFO has also expressed opposition to this blended learning model. 

“On so many levels this approach is wrong and it will no doubt compromise the high quality instruction that students need and deserve,” he said, adding that teacher-student interaction is a critical part of learning.

“Teachers cannot simply be in two places at once; it’s unmanageable,” Hammond said. “Where does a teacher devote their attention? Is it the classroom students or the online students? Because they certainly can’t do both at the same time effectively.”

Annie Kidder, executive director of the advocacy and research organization, People For Education, said there’s no way to determine how many schools will end up adopting this new model, but she thinks “boards are frantically trying to solve problems as best they can.”

“Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention and I don’t think any board would have chosen this if they didn’t feel it was necessary,” she added. 

However, she said, the province, school boards and parents need to acknowledge that these are not usual times and that there should be some leniency with regards to what teachers are expected to accomplish given the current circumstances.

“From a system perspective, there has to be flexibility about not assuming that teachers are going to implement new math curriculum at the same time for example, or meet all of the outcomes that are normally supposed to be met in curriculum by (a certain) date.”

Kidder said other factors that should be considered are hiring more support staff to help with both in-class and online learning, as well as affording teachers the opportunity to speak about what’s working and what isn’t. 

“I think what’s important is that we are immediately building in a method of learning about how this works so that we’re not just leaving teachers on their own to try and figure it out,” she said.

With files from Laura Broadley 

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The pandemic exposed huge gaps in EI — turns out the parental leave system has many of the same problems

Aug 20, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The year 2020 is proof the best laid plans can go wrong. Just ask Shantae Cunningham.

The self-employed, Toronto-based owner of an accounting firm had everything laid out: she was going to voluntarily pay into the Employment Insurance program throughout 2020 so she could access parental benefits come 2021, when she started a family.

Then COVID-19 happened.

“I had a whole plan … and then that was sort of cut right at the knees in March,” said Cunningham.

When the pandemic hit, Cunningham lost about 90 per cent of her client base. Around the same time, she discovered she was pregnant.

Instead of getting parental leave, Cunningham had to dip into her savings before the baby was born at the same time she refocused her business.

“My entire pregnancy I stressed about money,” she said.

Now, with her baby boy just weeks old, Cunningham is giving herself as much leave as she can; she’s taking a few months off of some clients, while continuing to work with others. She even worked the day after her child was born.

If she were eligible for parental benefits, Cunningham would have taken a full leave. But that’s not an option.

“It’s scary for me, especially as a freelancer. I just want to see some residual money coming in.”

Cunningham worked at an accounting firm before starting her own business, but the years she spent paying into the EI program don’t count toward her parental leave because she’s been self-employed for two years.

She says the EI program needs to change to accommodate the growing number of freelancers, gig workers, entrepreneurs, and self-employed.

“Essentially, we’ve been left out,” she said.

After COVID-19 made it clear the EI system needed to change, the federal government hinted it would work toward bringing the program up to speed. The program is currently being bolstered by temporary changes meant to include more people affected by the pandemic, reducing the number of hours needed to qualify and boosting the wage replacement rate.

In the long run, experts say parental benefits need to be easier to access, offer higher rates, and incentivize both parents to take leave.

Dana Wray, a PhD student at the University of Toronto studying social, work and family policies, said COVID-19 has exposed existing inequalities in the federal parental benefit system, deployed under EI.

Just like EI itself, it’s contingent on employment — a specific kind of employment, meaning people with precarious, low-income, or contract jobs often don’t qualify.

“It ends up just furthering some of the inequalities based on gender, social class or race, or intersections of those,” she said.

In the longer term, this will make it even harder for women, especially women of colour, to re-enter the job market, Wray said.

Canada Research Chair in gender, work and care Andrea Doucet said before the pandemic, around 35 per cent of women in Canada outside Quebec were unable to access parental leave (she noted this data excludes the territories and First Nations, a gap she said needs to be addressed).

“A lot of people pay into it … and then don’t benefit from it,” she said.

Sophie Mathieu, a post-doctoral fellow at the Université TÉLUQ who researches the Quebec parental leave system, said there are three aspects that need to change: accessibility, rate and the structure of paternity leave. These are all aspects where Quebec, which is known for its subsidized child-care program and parental benefits, is leading, she said.

Access to parental leave in Quebec requires the parent to make just $2,000 during the qualifying period, the equivalent of 153 minimum-wage hours, Mathieu said — and contract, gig and self-employed workers are eligible. Secondly, parents in Quebec receive between 55 per cent and 75 per cent of their income, up to a maximum insurable earnings of $78,500. By comparison, the federal EI system offers up to 55 per cent of a maximum insurable earnings of $52,400.

With the economic recovery in mind, Brock University associate professor of sociology and associate dean of social sciences Kate Bezanson said it’s time to act quickly so that women aren’t left behind.

“I think that the easiest fix is to take the Quebec model … and adopt that for the rest of Canada,” she said.

In addition to eligibility and rate, Mathieu said Quebec’s approach to leave for the father, or second parent, makes those parents much more likely to take parental leave. Every parental leave plan includes a “use it or lose it” additional leave for the father or second parent of three to five weeks, which is not dependent on the eligibility of the other parent. The federal program’s additional five-to-eight-week Parental Sharing Benefit, however, is dependent on both parents’ EI eligibility. That’s why while Quebec sees a high rate of fathers using this leave, the federal benefit has a much lower uptake, she said.

As well, Wray said the low wage replacement rate of federal parental benefits makes fathers or second parents less likely to apply, preferring instead to keep working.

“I worry if more women are forced out of the labour force or forced into lower income or precarious work, that that financial logic will be even harder to get around,” she said. “Fathers will be less willing or less able to take time to spend with their children in their first year through parental leave if they feel they can’t afford it.”

Experts also say that parental benefits should be considered a care policy, not just an employment policy, more tightly integrating them with other policies such as child care (the federal government has promised a national child-care strategy).

Doucet said if parental leave is always tied to employment, it will always leave out some people.

“If we’re going to have an inclusive system, that would mean actually thinking a little bit wider outside of the employment relationship,” she said.

Bezanson said it’s about having more coordination between different areas of policy so that child care and parental leave are thought of as complementary family policies. During the pandemic she’s seen more coordination between different policy jurisdictions than before.

“I think that’s a good moment for us to harness that energy and make the kind of bold policy decisions that need to get made,” she said.

This is part two of an ongoing series looking at the pandemic’s devastating effect on women in the workforce.

Rosa Saba is a Calgary-based business reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: