Sask. dad considers home-schooling after province releases plan to resume fall classes

A Regina father says he is thinking about quitting his job as a nurse to home-school his kids after hearing about the provincial government's plan to send them back to class in the fall. 

Randy Dos Santos said he was disgusted and disappointed in the guidelines released by the Ministry of Education Thursday. 

He said he hoped school would be online next year and he is already researching home-schooling options. 

"Now we're going from closing schools to no reduction in class size, no half days, no online option and they're going to allow full seating capacity in a school," said Dos Santos. "That might be the part that I think is the biggest joke."

Dos Santos and his wife, who also works in the healthcare field, have four children aged seven, 10, 12 and 13. Two attend public school, one attends Catholic school and one is in a French program. 

Dos Santos said he has been reading studies on the virus from medical journals and listening to interviews with epidemiologists. He said he has emailed the Ministry of Education to voice his concerns on their reopening plan. 

"I just think it's a leadership failure," said Dos Santos. "It's pretty plain — it's economy over people. They're willing to see us as collateral damage until we have no choice but to shut down again."

Some concerned that kids will carry the virus

Dos Santos said he expects to see many teachers quit or strike if they have to return to classrooms as usual. He said he messaged the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation to volunteer to lobby for other options.

On Thursday, Chief Medical Health Officer for Saskatchewan Dr. Saqib Shahab ​​​said the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in schools are low and stressed that the symptoms are mild in children. 

Patrick Maze, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, said teachers will be in danger. 

"I've seen lots of teachers say that they have compromised immunity or they have a spouse who has compromised immunity or children at home," said Maze. "Proper restrictions and precautions aren't being taken mostly in the interest of saving money and in expediency.

"It's a responsibility of the employer to make sure that their employees are safe and saying that kids don't seem to get the virus really rings hollow for teachers because they know that they can get the virus and they are very concerned."

Province won't give teachers and students PPE

The province said students will be asked to minimize physical contact, since physical distancing is difficult for children. The guidelines say shared surfaces will be cleaned more often, but teachers and students don't have to wear masks. 

Instead of offering PPE, the province said extra handwashing and hand sanitizing will be encouraged.

Maze said he wants to see staff and students wearing masks in school, although it is likely to take some time for younger children to get used to them. 

"Many teachers have really taken the government's precautions to heart and have been social distancing and wearing masks in grocery stores," said Maze. "So then to hear that they'll go and be responsible for a classroom of 30-some students who don't have to wear masks and everything's optional then it's frustrating."

Maze said that he is worried the schools won't have a steady supply of hand sanitizer, as there were issues with that in the winter and he's also concerned teachers will have to take on cleaning duties because of the guidelines. 

STF says alternative classrooms should be used

Maze also said it will be impossible to practice distancing at school, due to overcrowding. In fact, a number of schools in the province already have portable classrooms. He said some classes should be held in halls and community centres to spread kids out. 

The province said recesses and lunch breaks may be staggered to maintain space between students. Hallways and boot rooms may also be modified or used at different times by different classes. 

The Ministry of Education is set to make a decision about extracurricular activities in August. 

Maze hopes it will follow the lead of universities and cancel sports as a safety precaution, also said he is concerned about students being in tight quarters on school buses.

And while children may be less likely to get the virus, Dos Santos said there isn't any conclusive evidence they couldn't pass it on to teachers, parents or elderly family members. 

"I don't see how a kid's gonna do very well if the parent ends up in the ICU or if a parent ends up dead," he said.