More Responses Needed for Catholic Boards Return to School Survey
So far the majority of parents with kids in the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board are opting to have them return to class during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A return to school outline was released on Aug. 5 with the intention of gathering feedback from parents and a better idea of how many kids will be returning to school in September.
Executive Superintendent of Student Achievement Emelda Byrne says 21 per cent parents opted to keep their kids home at the elementary level and 15 per cent opted out at secondary schools.
"We're hoping that parents take a moment before noon on Friday to declare if their child is able to come back or not," says Byrne, who added half of the boards 20,000 families responded to the survey so far.
Byrne says the board will begin reaching out to parents if they don't respond to the return to school survey.
More than 350 emails were also received resulting in clear rules on screening and reactions to a potential outbreak, but Byrne says the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will be in charge directing people to isolate.
"They will also take the lead if there is an identified case from the perspective of cohort tracing," Byrne says.
She tells AM800 News some responsibility will fall on parents to ensure they keep kids home if they're sick.
"They would be making sure that they screen their child to make sure that they're healthy enough to go to school," added Byrne. "It's the most important aspect from a parent's perspective."
The plan is to keep students in select groups or cohorts at the elementary level and alternate days at the secondary level to limit the number of contacts between students.
An addition to the plan will also create an isolation area in schools with proper PPE should someone become symptomatic and a staggered start at the elementary level during the week of Sept. 8,
Assemblies, extracurricular activities and field trips will not be allowed under the plan.
There are also deadlines for parents to switch from at-home to in-class learning; the dates and the full plan can be found on the WECDSB website.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi.