NSTU seeks clarity following weekend memo from Education Department
It’s been one week since public school students in Nova Scotia returned to in-person learning. With the province deciding to end contact tracing in schools, the group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education has created an online tool where people can report a COVID-19 case.
"It has been very busy,” said Stacey Rudderham, co-chair of the group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education.
“There have been a lot of people coming to the tool and reporting their child's case or theirs, sometimes it might be staff members that are reporting their own case. It's open to anyone in a public school in Nova Scotia to report."
Rudderham said more than 400 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last week through the new online tool.
"Only a few of those are PCR tests, so only a few of those school cases are included in the numbers that the province is providing in their daily numbers so it is concerning,” said Rudderham.
While parents try to track COVID-19 cases, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union is working to clarify a memo that was sent by the Department of Education over the weekend.
"I think one of the reasons this memo touched a nerve was that the fear of the unknown,” said Paul Wozney, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union.
The memo, sent Saturday evening, thanked everyone for a successful first week of in-person learning.
Part of the memo read: “teachers are asked to make work and assignments available to families whose children are home at this time.”
That’s something Wozney said teachers were already doing before the pandemic.
"If this turns out to be no more or no less of a burden for teachers, then it is outside the pandemic, then it's not a thing. Right, there's nothing to be worried about,” said Wozney.
“Teachers have proven to be able to manage that in the past and they will be able to manage it now. However, we know anecdotally from across the province attendance is continuing to nose dive day by day by day as more and more parents opt to keep their kids at home."
Nova Scotia’s minister of education and early childhood development declined a request for an interview with CTV News Monday.
In a statement, Becky Druhan said in part: “the overall goal of the memo was to ensure consistency across the province in ensuring that all students who are absent from school have access to learning materials and assignments.”
Druhan goes on to say: “the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is not asking teachers to prepare different/additional materials or introduce a hybrid learning model.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.