Provincial school guidelines a start: Sask. Teachers’ Federation

Many question still remain when it comes to the provincial government’s school guidelines for re-opening in September.

President of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Patrick Maze says Thursday’s guidelines are a good step, but he wonders how they’ll be implemented in an effective and practical manner, especially when it comes to social distancing.

“Schools are at or over capacity so social distancing is really impossible in many situations,” said Maze. “We don’t want it to just be a case of ‘oh we recognize it’s kind of difficult to do in schools.’ No, we want some answers, we want some solutions.”

Maze believes additional staff or volunteers would be needed to make sure kids are washing hands and following the rules.

“You just think of the countless situations that there’s going to be where children on a playground, or children in the hallways, or bathrooms where they’re going to have to be spoken to. It’s going to be completely exhausting if we’re relying on existing staff to spread the message about proper social distancing and proper hand washing techniques.”

Maze applauds the provincial government’s decision to get schools re-opened. He just wants to assure that they’re not just rushing to get back just for the sake of returning to normal.

He hopes they can have more conversations soon to iron out the details.