On Tuesday afternoon, P.E.I.’s minister of education did not know if schools will be open on Thursday morning.
But Natalie Jameson said that if they remain closed due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, she is confident that online learning platforms will be in place for home learning as of Thursday morning.
"Students will be learning one way or another, whether it's remotely or in class come Thursday," Jameson told The Guardian following question period.
Staff of her department met with the Chief Public Health Office Tuesday afternoon.
Jameson said teachers and staff should know if schools will reopen by early Wednesday morning.
“CUPE and the PEITF have indicated that they require 24 hours' notice, hence the tonight deadline," Jameson said, referring to the staff and teacher’s union.
"They've had practice throughout the fall with our online learning platforms. Most of them have Chromebooks, already ready to go. But the education system has enough to support all students."
A remote learning guide for the Public Schools Branch, tabled in the legislature on Tuesday, said the Google Sites and Google Classroom platforms have been set up if a move to online learning is required.
Jameson said the department has distributed hundreds of Google Chromebooks to students.
The guide says kindergarten instructors will be expected to provide 60-80 minutes of instruction time online per day while Grades 1-6 teachers will be expected to provide 2.5 hours of instruction per day if all students are learning from home. The guide does not set out a minimum instruction time for teachers of Grades 7-12 but says they will instruct students “at their regularly scheduled times”.
Jameson faced questions from both the Opposition Greens and Liberals about plans for schools dealing with COVID-19 restrictions.
“We know that when there’s no teacher, that the whole staff is shuffling all day trying to fill this void. Question to the minister: What is the plan if a class does not have a teacher?” Green MLA Karla Bernard asked Jameson.
Jameson said Public Schools Branch personnel have informed her that all schools are “staffed appropriately”.
“Each school has an operational plan, and we work very closely with the CPHO to ensure that that is carried forward,” Jameson said.
Jameson was also asked by Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly to table plans for remote learning.
“The Island government has never publicly released their full online learning plans, but the former minister did ensure they would be prepared for any eventuality,” McNeilly said.
“Will you allow all Islanders to see the full online learning plan?
In response, Jameson tabled the 13-page guide to online learning for parents and students.
Bernard said she hoped the transition to online learning would be smoother than the experience from last spring.
"Moving forward, I hope that teachers are supported in this," she said.
"We cannot expect what we did last time because of the strain it put on families who are working from home."
Bernard also said many teachers felt “unfulfilled” as they could not adequately gauge how effectively students were learning through a computer screen.
She said she hopes there is a way, if students go to remote learning, to have teachers connect more directly with students in a safe manner.
"It's really important for both our teachers and our students to have a face-to-face contact," Bernard said.
