TORONTO -- With the new school year beginning over the next few weeks in Canada, the recent rise in COVID-19 infections across the country has prompted many parents to reconsider whether to send their children for in-person at school this fall or keep them at home for online learning or home-schooling.
Overall, the responses showed that, across the country, many parents share concerns about the recent rise in COVID-19 infections and have either recently reconsidered, or are now reconsidering whether to send their children back to school for in-person learning. “With what is unraveling in the U.S., we as parents feel that our best plan of action is to be more cautious than not,” she wrote.Facing deadlines for choosing between online and in-person learning, some parents found themselves regretting decisions made earlier in the year.
“We had to let the school board know by April and we felt it was too soon to make a decision, so our children were automatically enrolled in physical school for their school board,” wrote Rachel Brethour-McMichael of Blenheim, Ont. Her daughters, aged 13 and 7, attend school in the Lambton-Kent District School Board, which imposed an April 21 deadline for choosing virtual learning.
“Classrooms and buses could be at full capacity, and wind instruments/singing lessons would be permitted, but we all know schools cannot accommodate 2-metre distancing,” she wrote. “I’m scared and hesitant because my father passed away in January 2021 from COVID-19, but what else can I do? I just have to trust the guidelines and hope for the best,” she added.