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
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.