Some Ontario parents opting for 'pod schools' to avoid pandemic disruptions
When it comes to pandemic safety at schools, some parents are voting with their feet, turning to so-called ‘pods’ with other students from like-minded families.
The experience offers perceived safety and stability for those who can afford it — but educators are worried about what this means for public education if the thousands of children the pandemic seems to have pushed from public school don’t come back.
“For my kids, I need stability,” said Ilana Katz, who says she’s still reeling from having to be a mom and a part-time teacher for much of the last school year. “Every single announcement where they said kids weren’t going back to school was a full-out panic.”
Katz’s solution this September is to enrol her kids in a ‘pod’ school, joining five others and hiring a teacher in what is technically a homeschool arrangement. The cost is $1,000 per child, per month.
“We feel like it’s the best case scenario for us,” said Katz, who is a speech language pathologist. “A teacher and six children will come and learn in my basement. At least they can have some stability that way.“
She says her chosen school did 10 pods last year and is now up to 25. School districts say it’s too early to get figures for how many families are making that choice this year.
Last year, enrolment dropped in Toronto by more than 3,000 children in kindergarten. In 2019, there were 17,419 students in junior kindergarten; that dropped by 2,291 to 15,128 in 2020, a change of about 13 per cent.
In 2019, there were 17,760 students enrolled in senior kindergarten, which dropped by 770 to 16,990 in 2020, a change of about four per cent.
The TDSB said it believes much of this is children delaying starting school because kindergarten isn’t mandatory. A recent New York Times article on ‘The Kindergarten Exodus’ said more than one million children didn’t attend kindergarten last year, continent-wide.
But the effect may extend to other grades: In 2019, TSDB figures show there were 17,869 children enrolled in Grade 1; in 2020, that dropped by 543, or about three per cent, to 17,326.
Jennifer Brown, the president of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, told CTV News Toronto that she believes that if parents are leaving, it’s because the measures taken by the provincial government during the pandemic haven’t given them confidence.
“If this government was really serious about doing what’s best for the students and workers in education and education sectors, they would lower the class sizes so there could be physical distancing,” she said.
The TDSB says it is ready, pointing to provincial masking standards, and HEPA filters in all the schools. Some 53 per cent of schools have mechanical ventilation, nine per cent have passive ventilation, and some combination of both in 38 per cent.
“We have older buildings in Toronto. Passive anything is not good,” Brown said, wondering whether that would be enough to stop the spread of COVID-19 in a building where students were gathering for assemblies and singing in choir practice.
“I believe they have wilfully underfunded public education and this pandemic has destabilized public education and moving people out — and private industry is taking over public education. That’s not what’s best for Ontario,” she said.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is still discussing mandatory vaccinations for educators, something the Ontario Medical Association called for this week.
Educator Prachi Srivastava said schools need to update their curriculum to accommodate learning disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“We want to look at an integrated approach. It needs to be in the curriculum and safety, and we’re not seeing that,” she said.
Katz wants her children to go back to the public system when the pandemic is over, but she worries that not everyone will want to return.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.