Absenteeism rate soars to 20% in Winnipeg's largest school division as viruses take toll on students
Winnipeg School Division says typical rate for November is 12 to 14%
Everything all at once: that's what it feels like for Winnipeg dad Phil Coss, who says his four-year-old daughter has caught several viruses since the start of the school year, causing her to miss class.
And she's not the only one.
Coss said he's noticed there are fewer students being dropped off in the morning at Laura Secord School in Winnipeg's Wolseley neighbourhood, where his daughter attends preschool.
"I feel like they've had everything in the last few months, and I'm sure there's more to come, so we're worried," he said.
So far this month, the Winnipeg School Division says on average, about 20 per cent of its students have been absent on any given day.
A spokesperson for the division — the largest in the province, with roughly 33,000 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 — said there typically is an uptick in illnesses this time of the year, but a normal monthly absenteeism rate is between 12 and 14 per cent.
Seven Oaks School Division, in northwest Winnipeg, told CBC News its student absentee rate for November was 13.3 per cent. In Louis Riel School Division, in southeast Winnipeg, that number is 18 per cent.
In recent weeks, Winnipeg's Children's Hospital has raised alarm over the unprecedented volume of kids being brought to the emergency department with respiratory viruses.
Similarly, Doctors Manitoba warned of a triple threat virus season, as a combination of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, flu and COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed the health-care system.
'We can do better' for kids: parent
With multiple viruses spreading and students no longer required to wear masks, parent Margaret Bryans said she isn't surprised to hear absenteeism rates are spiking.
Her 11-year-old daughter, Georgia, also goes to Laura Secord School, and her friends have been in and out of class with illnesses, said Bryans.
"It's reasonable to expect that our absenteeism is that high, and I just think we can do better by the kids that we love," said Bryans.
She'd like to see more public health efforts in the schools, including vaccine clinics, proper ventilation and adequate spacing.
Coss thinks it makes sense to bring back masks not just to schools, but everywhere.
"It's kept us sick-free for a few years, so I don't see why we wouldn't continue with that," he said.
At a virtual town hall meeting earlier this week, Manitoba Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin repeatedly recommended mask wearing, but said the province "certainly won't be mandating" them.
Jill Gray, who lives west of Brandon and has three children, including two who are school-aged, said she doesn't expect her kids will be able to avoid catching viruses. A bout of illness has already passed through her family in the past month.
"[Illness] goes from kid to kid, and it feels sometimes like this is just how life is right now," Gray said.
Rather than worrying about absenteeism rates in schools, she and her family are focusing on what they can control, she said — like frequent hand-washing, staying up to date on vaccines and staying home if they do get sick.
"If we're anticipating something unpleasant, it's just going to kind of rob our joy for the moment."
Teachers hit too: union
But Nicholas Kelly, the principal of Darwin School in the Louis Riel School Division, says it's hard to keep the momentum of learning going with so many absences.
"We're just not out of the woods. Are there going to be learning gaps? Of course," Kelly said.
Addressing the learning gaps will take time, and Kelly notes students now in Grade 2 have not had a school experience that hasn't been impacted by the pandemic.
"We're gonna need some support in the public to understand that people are looking really hard to overcome those gaps," Kelly said.
Manitoba Teachers' Society president James Bedford says teachers are responsible for making up for students' learning loss when they're absent for any reason. But if the teacher is also sick, it becomes more difficult, he said.
"It's one thing to be there in class and have students absent that you're playing catch-up with after they come back, but it's another thing altogether [if the teacher] is out ill."
Ideally, a teacher who is sick will be covered by a substitute teacher, but a shortage of subs is adding to the current challenge.
On Wednesday morning, the teachers' society expected just over 40 members to attend a day of professional development.
Only about half showed up, Bedford said, with registrants citing illness and a lack of available substitute teachers as reasons for not attending.
As for solutions, masks "are certainly one of those things that are open to debate and discussion, and we are certainly having those conversations," he said.
WATCH | 'Zero per cent surprised' by absentee rate, says parent:
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With files from Holly Caruk and Chelsea Kemp