School closures not ruled out, though keeping kids in class is a priority: B.C. Education Minister

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British Columbia’s Education Minister has not ruled out new closures in the K-12 school system as COVID-19 case numbers climb, but he says keeping kids in class is critical to protect students' mental health.

“There is a heavy toll on mental wellness by closing schools for young people right across British Columbia,” Rob Fleming said in an interview.

Ontario and Quebec are looking at extending the winter break as school-related cases rise. The latest modeling from B.C. shows school attendance is not a driving force in transmission, but that community spread – especially in homes – has been bringing COVID-19 into the classroom.

In an update on Thursday, the province reported 261 exposures in schools, mostly in the Lower Mainland and in the Fraser Valley. On Nov. 7, the Provincial Health Officer issued orders in those two regions to limit social interactions and non-essential travel due to increased transmission of the coronavirus. The restrictions are in place until Nov. 23.

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Mr. Fleming said he will take the direction of public health officials if further restrictions are needed, but he urged British Columbians to embrace the social restrictions so that schools won’t have to close.

“The effort to reduce community transmission is the focus right now. The option of having to move further back on [the school restart plan] is obviously something that is available to us."

He pointed to a new report from the province’s Representative for Children and Youth, which found the pandemic has amplified inadequacies in mental health services as experts brace for rising rates of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress in children and young people.

Those findings were well documented after the province closed schools in the spring, during the first wave of the pandemic. The Ministry of Education, working with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, surveyed roughly 15,000 students and their families over the summer.

The Sept. 22 report found that in students high levels of detachment and a rise in anxiety resulted from the prolonged school closure, while parents – particularly single mothers, recent immigrants and those in Indigenous households – experienced reduced hours, job losses and a greater caregiving burden.

“Evidence is accumulating that school closures are societally unsustainable in the long term, particularly given the lower risk of transmission from children to others, as well as the negative effects of prolonged school closures,” reported the study, which combined research from around the globe with the results of the student survey.

“The single best thing we we did as a province,” Mr. Fleming said, “was to reopen schools, and have a strong, safe reopening in September. That had instant benefits that were reported across B.C.”

The school year that began in September offered the majority of high-school students a hybrid education system blending in-class and at-home learning. Between 85 per cent and 90 per cent of younger students returned to in-class instruction. “That has been a key part of our plan for the mental health and well-being of young students who we want to keep safe in a very structured highly regulated school environment,” Mr. Fleming said.

The union representing B.C. public school teachers has raised concerns about the restart program, arguing that not enough is being done to keep students and educators safe. This week, the union established a arbitration process through the Labour Relations Board to resolve concerns about cleaning protocols, masks and physical distancing in schools.

In a September letter to Mr. Fleming, union president Teri Mooring said the ministry has failed to issue clear instructions and has allowed individual school districts to make crucial decisions about pandemic safety. "This is causing confusion, stress and a downward slide in working and learning conditions.”

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