Teachers heading back to class face sacrifice, uncertainty and preparation

B.C. students head back to the classroom this week, and teachers headed back to class Tuesday to prepare for their fall arrivals amid a global pandemic.  

As part of the staggered entry to the start of the school year, teachers are spending Tuesday and Wednesday meeting with their health and safety committee and generally familiarizing themselves with the new guidelines that have been put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Students are expected to return to school for an orientation on Thursday.

The extra days are meant to help teachers prepare to teach in learning cohorts, employ physical distancing in shared areas, acquaint themselves with the new handwashing and hygiene protocols and finalize lesson plans according to the modified schedules. 

"We certainly wanted to have just staff and administrators in the building for the first couple of days, then safely welcome students back Thursday and Friday," said Education Minister Rob Fleming. 

But not every teacher feels ready.

"There is a lot, I think, that we need to get into place before the students get here," said Kaija Farstad, an elementary school librarian with the Surrey School District.

Farstad said as the librarian, she'll likely be in contact with the whole student body.

"I'll have to wear a mask and I'll have to be distanced from the kids and all of the other adults in the school at all times," she said. 

And Farstad says she'll also be restricting her own personal bubble as the school year starts. 

"I don't want to put older people at risk," she said. "My dad has a history of heart issues. I don't want it to be my fault that somebody that I love, that I normally spend a lot of time with, gets really sick."

Teri Mooring, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, said teachers across the province are being asked to make personal sacrifices to reopen schools. 

"We're seeing school districts sending letters to teachers telling them they need to be additionally careful in their personal lives or else there will be repercussions professionally," Mooring said.

On Tuesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it was time for the whole province to step up and contract their social circles in order to allow for the successful reopening of schools.

Henry also took the step of shutting down nightclubs and standalone banquet halls in order to keep community transmission low. 

"If we do not put our priority as a community on getting children back into the school setting ... we will have long-term generational downsides," she said.

"We need to do everything else we need to do in our community to focus on the importance and the priority of children being back in a learning environment."