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3 weeks before 750,000 K-12 kids head back to school in Alberta. @AlbertaEd @AdrianaLaGrange have foisted responsibility on local schools w/o new resources/plans/guidance re properly social distancing. Comparisons to Denmark are stark. But there are solutions in #yeg! Thread/1 https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1294982512792473603
First let’s address question of costs of second shutdown in fall/winter. Another round of CERB, unemployment, small businesses closing down, continued recession = devastating. Funding to keep kids in school safely = investment in our society. Kids need to get back to school. /2
In Denmark, local spaces used to spread out K-12 including museums, banks, libraries, sports facilities, hotels, conference centres. Massive community engagement.
/3 https://twitter.com/dgbassani/status/1294707862565003266
/3 https://twitter.com/dgbassani/status/1294707862565003266
The EPSB teachers and administrators are clearly doing their best (scheduling, sanitation), but fundamental issue is lack of space to distance./4 @EPSBNews
Here in #yeg, why are we not considering publicly-funded space to decant some K-12 classes? The @royalalberta museum, @ualberta, @mcewanu, @nait, @cityofedmonton etc. have many thousands of ft2 of unused/underused, large well-ventilated spaces./5
As example, @savillecentre @ualberta has 350,000 ft2 of space (15 gyms, studio spaces, tennis, curling) - spread kids out. Heck, the Terwillegar Rec Centre @cityofedmonton is dedicated to @NHL. Is hockey really more important (than us @cityofedmonton)? #ualberta #mcewanu #nait /6
Many of our schools are old - ventilation/HVAC problematic. Enabling kids to properly distance is essential. /7 https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5687458?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar&__twitter_impression=true
Excuses re “risk management” or insurance = failure of leadership. We are geographically isolated northern city & have to manage this as a community - remember that old Alberta slogan, “spirit to achieve”? illegitimi non carborundum (referring to “naysay” bureaucrats)!/8
“Parental angst” could be alleviated with a rational plan. Keep society open, parents working, kids in school. We have the space - could be done in YYC, YQL, YQF, YXH….illegitimi non carborundum (referring to “naysay” bureaucrats)! /9 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-clear-back-to-school-guidelines-are-needed-to-ease-parental-angst/
“Blow up plans for the school year: Keep the kids outside as long as possible w/tents, blankets. We have to solve our “collective inability or unwillingness to think creatively about appropriate policy responses.”/10 https://twitter.com/the_lineca/status/1295351173935964163
& @picardonhealth:”Instead of throwing up our arms in surrender, let’s innovate.” Let’s get our kids back to school safely./11 @CMOHAlberta @doniveson @cityofedmonton @epsbnews @AlbertaEd @ualberta @NAIT @mcewanu #ualberta #mcewanu #nait #abed #yeg https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-the-focus-should-be-when-and-how-not-whether-school-should-resume/
Let’s avoid the mistakes of others. We can do this #yeg./11 https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/middleeast/coronavirus-israel-schools-reopen.amp.html
And from today’s @edmontonjournal:
