As late as March 10, the Public Health Agency of Canada was assessing the public health risk associated with COVID-19 as “low.”
Then, on March 12, the Province of Ontario ordered the extended closure of all publicly-funded elementary and secondary schools, for an additional two weeks beyond the March Break.
The idea was to break the possible future chain of transmission, from families returning home from March Break travels. It was, in a way, a turning point in the response to COVID-19.
That day, and in the days that followed, universities also announced a cessation of in-person activities, and a switch to on-line and distance learning.
At Carleton University, in Ottawa, the university announced the cancellation of all face-to-face lectures, classes, and hands-on lab sessions. Classes were cancelled March 16 and 17, to resume March 18 – on-line.
Alexander Zanatta, a first-year Engineering student at Carleton, initially expected to stay in residence during the transition, and to continue his education on campus.
A Bradford native, he and the other students in the six-person residential “pod’ - two of them International students, from Egypt and Lebanon - were all planning to remain at Carleton.
“I thought I would have stayed up there – ‘til that past week,” Zanatta said.
But the situation continued to evolve. Students were advised to remain in their rooms, except for meals. The meals in the cafeteria became more and more restricted. Students who wanted to leave, were told they could do so and would be offered a rebate.
By Saturday, March 14, with concerns mounting, Zanatta called home and asked to be picked up that Sunday.
He still didn’t expect to move out of residence; he was thinking of it as a short “reading week” type break, with a return to residence on Easter weekend.
But by the time family arrived – travelling on the 401, mom Vicky said, “I have never seen it this empty – ever. Suffice it to say we made it in record time.” – they found a line up of parents moving their kids out of residence, the university offering a hefty rebate to any student that moved out before March 22, and no requirement for the normal room inspection on moving out.
Alexander agreed to leave, still worried about midterms and cancelled labs. “I just hoped the end of my term would still be counted,” he said.
On March 20, all students were asked to leave residence.
Since coming home, Zanatta has been able to continue his education, online.
“It’s still a bit chaotic,” he said, with some professors still working on their presentations. “Most have switched to on-stream live classes or just a video, with a power point.”
The university is also working on online testing, for midterms and finals.
The closure hasn’t been as disruptive for Alexander as it has for some students. “For my program, you can do everything online, and the education is as good,” he said; it’s the students taking chemistry and other sciences, who need to do lab work, who are facing the biggest disruptions, he said.
Carleton has already announced plans to offer a summer semester – online.
As for his room-mates, one has gone home to Toronto; the Egyptian student has left for Egypt. Zanatta is not in touch with the others at this time.
At the high school level, the situation is less clear. The Simcoe County District School Board, on March 20, shared Learn at Home, for students in grades K through 12, with grade-appropriate learning resources and “teacher-facilitated courses for independent study.”
The classes offered remain fairly limited, although the site notes that additional courses - especially for Grade 12 students, worried about their year and going on to college or university - will be "coming soon."
For the moment, the school boards have not altered the date of April 6, as the end of school closures - although the Learn at Home page talks of "planning for phase 2 after April 5," and Education Minister Stephen Lecce, in a letter to all parents, noted, "The fluidity of developments around COVID-19 means we are preparing in the event the closure period is further extended."
The Minister added that the ministry is "working with school boards to ensure students that currently do not have access to computers gain the technology needed to participate," and promised, "No graduating student will have their ability to graduate impacted by the two week closure and the COVID-19 development."
But for now, students and parents are still up in the air, wondering about the rest of the school year.
As one parent commented on the SCDSB Facebook page, "All parents would just like the bandaid to be ripped off. Are the kids out of school for the rest of the year, or not?"
Students are asked to share their concerns and coping strategies with Bradford Today. Please contact [email protected]
