Education workers from three London-area school boards will be collaborating on a plan to help ensure classrooms are safe for the return of in-person learning come September.
In one of three scheduled meetings taking place at the Hampton Inn on Exeter Road, support staff from Thames Valley District School Board, London Catholic District School Board, and Conseil scolaire Viamonde will gather on Wednesday with provincial leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The workers are among 2,700 school board employees in the region represented by CUPE.
“Education workers have deep knowledge and unparalleled skills when it comes to what students need and the ways that schools work,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), said in a statement. “We’ve supported students, schools, families, and communities throughout the pandemic; our input is critical to a safe September. We want to make sure we’re doing our part to make schools safe places to learn and work again.”
During the meeting, education assistants, early childhood educators, librarians, custodians, secretaries, and maintenance staff will share their experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The union intends to use those experiences to outline a plan that protects not only its members but all school workers and students.
CUPE previously told the Ontario government there is a need for better ventilation standards, smaller class sizes, and a provincial cleaning standard in schools in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"We will be discussing these and other issues to ensure that health, safety and the quality of students’ education are prioritized again in schools in London,” said Walton.
The province has not yet released a back to school plan for the fall. However, Education Minister Stephen Lecce recently stressed the government is "firmly committed to getting all children back to class, full-time, in-person, this September." He has also indicated there likely will be a return of extracurricular activities and sports. The province's official plan will be released in the coming weeks, Lecce said.
Students across Ontario finished the current school year online after schools were closed in April amid a third wave surge of COVID-19 cases. Daily case numbers have steadily declined since then and are now sitting at a nearly 10-month low as an increasing number of Ontarians get fully vaccinated.
