Teachers, union leaders and board members are sharing snapshots of what is happening, as staff shortages and absences rise amid the sixth wave.

“They do not return to normal in schools”

At the start of the pandemic, some experts warned that COVID-19 patience would be a marathon, not a sprint. For teachers, it’s more like a race with the finish line repeatedly moving away, according to Joanne Small-Greenall. Whether people call it the sixth wave or not, “it’s here and it definitely weighs on us,” said the 5th grade teacher, who works for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. During the pandemic, teachers are increasingly called upon to abandon their daily preparation period to make up for absent colleagues. “It just isn’t sustainable,” says Ottawa teacher Joanne Small-Greenall. (Christian Patry / CBC)
Usually, when a teacher is absent, an external casual or substitute teacher is called in, although sometimes schoolmates can cover up a colleague in a sting. In the midst of the pandemic, it is increasingly the last resort, Small-Greenall said, with teachers missing out on preparatory time – time spent marking, preparing and organizing upcoming classes and assignments, arranging meetings, communication with parents and more. To replace a day off with just one teacher, he explained, it may take four or five colleagues to drop out of school that day. “The extra duties and the way we feel are simply not sustainable,” said Small-Greenall, who has taught on the Ottawa Board of Directors for more than 20 years. The students are affected by the disorder of the existence of a rotating mix of different teachers who ride bicycles in their classrooms, he pointed out. “While everyone feels ‘tired of COVID’ and trying to start life again before the pandemic, ‘it has not returned to normal in schools,’” the teacher said. “There are more demands on us these days and I do not see that going away.”

When there is a shortage of staff, “the job is not done”

New Brunswick is also struggling with shortages this spring, with Provincial Teachers Association president Connie Keating noting a “real increase in school absenteeism.” New Brunswick Teachers Association president Connie Keating expressed concern when she heard of groups of students “gathering” in central locations, such as gyms or cafeterias, to be monitored when no replacement teacher could be found. (New Brunswick Teachers Association)
Although school officials do not know exactly how many absences are due to COVID-19, “we know COVID-19 would contribute to this,” he said, adding that this is the first time students are in school without protection. measures such as coverage. Without enough trained teachers to replace absent teachers, principals should turn to other district executives, such as mentors, resource trainers, coaches, or mentors. If these boulevards do not come out, it falls to the “teachers left in the building,” said Keating of Fredericton. In some cases, he said, groups of students may even be “dragged” to a central location – the gym or cafeteria, for example – for supervision.
“We are concerned that parents do not really know what effect these staff shortages have on their children’s education. “Teachers are professionals who do complex, specialized work – and therefore, when they are not present in the classroom, the work is not done.”

Call for reinstatement of intra-school measures

Schools are stuck in a “vicious circle” right now, according to Karen Brown, president of the Ontario Primary School Teachers Federation. Ontario Municipal Teachers Federation president Karen Brown says its members are calling for action, including the reintroduction of pandemic security measures. (Darek Zdzienicki / CBC)
As the sector struggles with growing absenteeism and the recent lifting of multiple pandemic measures, there are also ongoing staffing issues, such as a lack of sick days for casual educators – some of whom are out of work amid growing cases.
“Removing everything at once was a recipe for disaster,” Brown said. “It affects families, communities and will affect other systems … The spread will continue and that is not what we want.” Indeed, there is a shortage of teachers across the county, a spokesman for the Ontario Association of Public School Committees told CBC Metro Morning last week, with board members trying to make up for absenteeism in a variety of ways, including sending administrators. librarians to supplement or call retired teachers. Administrators and support staff are doing their best to manage the current situation, Brown said, but she hears many teachers calling for action: reintroduce pandemic safety measures, continue distributing rapid antigen tests at school and return to more extensive COVID-19 data monitoring. “Maybe this is the time to look at and re-examine the re-introduction of the mask command for a little longer,” he said from Toronto. “Look at the numbers and then let’s try to move on.” “We are watching things closely” Christian Michalik wanted to have more substitute teachers at his school in Winnipeg this spring, but not for the reason that one would expect. School principal Louis Riel hoped that in-school teachers would be able to return to the kinds of training opportunities and professional learning sessions they had attended before the pandemic – and they needed to be supplemented. Louis Riel School Superintendent Christian Michalik sent a letter to parents and guardians on Friday, five days after school returned from spring break, to inform families of the growing COVID-related absences. (Submitted by Louis Riel School Department)
Although the group of school deputies is not as tense now as it was in January and February, he said, they are still called regularly. The department noted an increase in self-reported absences of students and staff related to COVID last week, after returning from spring break, so Michalik sent a letter to the families on Friday, noting the increase and reiterate the importance of ongoing measures, including home screening for symptoms, staying home when sick, testing and vaccination. “If schools see anything that concerns … specifically for a classroom, for a classroom level, for a school as a whole, we are in contact with public health officials [and] “with officials from the Ministry of Education,” he said. Michalik believes the pandemic has disrupted meaningful relationships between students and teachers. It is imperative that we rebuild them and address the academic issues now, he added, “but we can not abandon” mitigation measures in the meantime.
More absences of students and staff in the middle of a sixth wave of COVID-19 further disrupt learning in Canadian classrooms. (Sofia Rodriguez / CBC)

A difficult spring is expected

In the Toronto School District Committee, principals are now informing their entire school community about COVID-19 cases that have been reported on their own, but still do not record the full picture of absences, said Anne-Marie Longpre, which teaches English in the 9th grade and 10 students. “It’s always normal to have two kids away. Life happens. But definitely nine kids missing a class is not normal,” the TDSB teacher told CBC’s Metro Morning on Friday, noting that her classes consisted of about 25 students saw about a third absent. on Thursday. As in other areas, due to a lack of teachers, Longpre and her colleagues have supported her absent colleagues. Last week, she went to bed for a construction technology class she was learning about tiling – a subject she said she knew little about. Longpre predicted a difficult month ahead. “We know that COVID is exponential … I just hope that everyone will succeed and when we get to the real spring weather – as we have seen in recent years – we hope the numbers will improve and we can start to overcome that. “