Teachers are getting ready to head back to empty classrooms next month.
President of the New Brunswick Teachers Association Rick Cuming says they don’t know all of the specifics of the re-entry plan yet. He knows they’ll look different at every school though.
“For some larger schools with 100 teachers or more in them, there will have to be a staggered return and be gradual. There are numerous details that will need to be ready in schools to ensure all the directives of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Worksafe NB are followed.”
Cuming is hoping that when teachers return next month, they’ll know a bit about what the plan for September will look like.
He says they’ve been pushing the provincial government to have decisions on at least the potential scenarios for the upcoming school year.
“We’ve been providing feedback and input into September planning but we don’t have specifics yet, but teachers would likely need to be preparing for any one of the likely scenarios of what September might look like. If we can sit down and have those details hammered out, then teachers are going to be able to prepare and have a much more rich learning opportunities for their students.”
Cuming says teachers will be continuing to do the work they have been since the COVID-19 shutdown until June 12th.
“Teachers have really been trying to adapt to this situation and to all of these challenges since the beginning of the closure providing some continuity of learning. I certainly couldn’t be more proud of representing this dedicated group of professionals,” Cuming says.
The province says as teachers return to school, it may be staggered or based on schedules or shifts, depending on the school or district. Each district will be responsible for developing and communicating their return-to-work policy for staff, including providing orientation.
The final day of work for teachers will be June 23.
