UCP’s in-person learning regulation puts school staff on double duty

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School staff are working double — sometimes triple — duty after the UCP created a new regulation forcing school boards to ensure all students have access to in-person learning, no matter how high absences get.

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An ongoing wave of respiratory illnesses — which saw the Alberta Children’s Hospital park a trailer outside emergency this week for overflow waiting — is creating high absence rates among students and staff in Calgary schools, forcing some to transition students to online learning.

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And only one week after the UCP government announced a new regulation ensuring all students have access to in-class learning, the Calgary Board of Education is reporting more than 1,200 teaching and support staff positions requiring substitutes.

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said schools are now facing even more obstacles in trying to support students, with staff still left in schools running both online and in-person learning, while taking on the students of sick colleagues.

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“When the government thinks this new regulation is a solution for students, it is in fact creating more problems, it exacerbates them,” Schilling said.

“Classes were moving online in the first place because, operationally, school boards just don’t have the staff to run classrooms.

“And this new requirement has teachers running both online and in-person components for their students, but also having to cover off for colleagues who may be away sick.

“So they are in fact working double, sometimes triple duty.”

Schilling explained teachers who may have most of their students off sick, but a handful still healthy, must now be present in the classroom during the day to teach in-person lessons.

But outside of school hours, Schilling added, those same teachers are having to connect with students who want to learn from home and ensure they are understanding concepts, that they have lesson plans and that they have the technology they need.

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And when teachers themselves fall ill, students are being moved into other already-full classrooms where students there may be learning different concepts, or even in a different grade, Schilling said.

“All of this also impacts learning, and makes it tough on students who continue to face so many disruptions.”

Last week, Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced two new regulations, one which would prevent school boards from mandating masks, and another that would ensure school boards provide in-person learning opportunities for all students.

“Parents and students have told me time and time again that they want a normal school environment for their kids. With that in mind, we have taken steps to protect and enhance educational choice. Families are free to make their own personal health decisions, and, no matter what that decision is, it will be supported by Alberta’s education system,” Smith said.

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LaGrange added she too has received feedback from schools and families.

“I have heard from parents and students that they would like stability, and from school boards that they would like clarity. Securing a face-to-face classroom environment means students can continue to learn successfully while allowing their parents to go to work. It will also help to maintain and improve student mental health while minimizing student learning loss.”

But Stephani Clements, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Local 38 representing Calgary public school teachers, said the new rules will, in fact, add to stress in the system, and make learning even more challenging.

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“I am dumbfounded. I mean, you can’t just photocopy teachers,” Clements said.

“We heard our own superintendent say just two weeks ago that online learning is something that may have to happen, because we just don’t have enough staff, and worst-case scenario we may have to put some kids to online learning for a few days.

“And now we are hearing we cannot do that.”

Clements said this fall has already been incredibly tough, with the CBE welcoming a huge influx of new students, and teachers being expected to roll out a new curriculum for K-to-6 students.

“How can teachers ensure that all of the learning outcomes of this new curriculum are even met, when so many kids and staff are away because they are sick?

“We are hearing every day that teachers are internally covering colleagues that are sick, we are combining classes all the time. And there is no safety net like the one we used to have during COVID, when at least the CMOH (Chief Medical Officer of Health) could say we need masking, or we can move online.

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“That is gone now, and this government keeps trying to push forward like it’s business as usual.”

Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman for the Support Our Students advocacy group, called the new UCP regulations political grandstanding, at a time when students are facing continued disruptions and learning loss.

“There is nothing normal about the school environment this government has caused by not investing in schools, and not investing in health and safety measurements,” Moussa said, explaining that underfunding has created large class sizes and a lack of staff, which exacerbate contagious illnesses.

“Parents are left scrambling, doing whatever they can to make sure their kids stay healthy, and not miss more school.

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“And where is the advocacy from the CBE? They continue to fall in line, and allow the government to do whatever they want, without standing up for students.”

CBE officials are continuing to track student absences, which showed this week an average of 10 per cent absenteeism among younger K-to-3 students.

At mid-week, the CBE identified 1,212 positions that required substitute teachers or casual staff. Of those, 122 teaching jobs went unfilled, and 54 support staff jobs were also not filled.

At the Calgary Catholic School District, 49 of 117 schools had absence rates of 10 per cent or higher, up from last week’s 46 and 93 staff positions were left unfilled.

Neither school board would provide a detailed strategy of how they are dealing with a high rate of staff absences and how the new regulations will impact learning, saying only that they continue to take their guidance from the province.

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