- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
Some parents and teachers are getting increasingly frustrated by the handling of Covid-19 at Holland Chatsworth Central School (HCCS).
Twelve teachers and three education assistants (EA) remained outside the school today, taking turns warming up in their cars.
The frustration, we are told, is about communication, and confusion around the numbers of cases. Some community members are also concerned when staff and students return to school after testing positive, even after a 10 day isolation.
The Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB) gets its case numbers from Grey Bruce Public Health, which is informed by Assessment Centres of all positive tests and starts contacting those individuals and their close contacts. BWDSB reported December 9 that there was one additional case at the HCCS, bringing the number of active cases at the school to 4.
The Ontario numbers, which the website says were last updated December 10 at 10:30 a.m. and come from School boards who “report to us every weekday from Monday to Friday”, say Holland Chatsworth Central School has 8 cases today – all students, no staff. Yesterday they said the school had 9 student cases.
A representative of the School board confirmed that there is sometimes a lag in reporting or updating, but had no specific explanation for the discrepancies. As far as the return to school protocol, that is under Public Health's jurisdiction.
The first two cases at HCCS were identified on November 24th, and had risen to 11, according to BWDSB reports.
A parent who identified themselves to us, but signed “a concerned, frustrated parent, who stands with the Teachers” wrote the following:
“With only a week left before Christmas Holidays, and the covid count continuing to climb with 12 confirmed positive cases, why not opt for online learning for the last week of school? Despite the best efforts of the Custodial crew, the new cases have not stopped coming in. With Covid being spread through close contact, the teachers, parents and children are feeling like sitting ducks. Especially in the Kindergarten classrooms, where children are unmasked and require more 1 on 1 help than older children....The teachers are standing outside the school, trying to get the school board and Public Health to take them seriously. To stand up and protect our children, our community and themselves.”
Another parent, who is also an ECE (Early Childhood Educator) in the school although not an employee of the Board, wrote to MPP Bill Walker and copied us.
“My daughter is 4 years old, in the JK classroom involved in the outbreak at Holland Chatsworth Central School. She is too young to be vaccinated. I have pulled her from school at this time for fear for her safety. I am very fortunate to have the ability to do this; many families do not have this option. It is time to stop playing Russian Roulette with the safety of our children, teachers and our community. There's a little over one week left before Christmas break. Please close the school. Allow children to do online learning for that week and then return to school after the break when this outbreak is over....
“Not enough information has been given to families regarding this situation. We need to protect our children who cannot be vaccinated. We need to protect our teachers. Public Health is not doing enough to protect our children who cannot be vaccinated, and I'm sure the school/school board's hands are tied regarding this situation without their recommendation to close the school.”
Absenteeism at the school would suggest that other parents are also keeping their children home out of caution. The BWDSB representative stated that there was adequate staffing for supervsion and learning at the school today.
