With the teacher & EAs, it's about 30 in a room , w/ 25% wearing masks. In the same school another class could have 100% usage. So it's at the whim of the students whether youth have access to safe environments. Even if a parent says "wear one", a youth can do what they want. https://twitter.com/realreporter/status/1290412254622396416

A parent told me what happened in his child's class. A HS student was coughing. The teacher asked him to put a mask on. He refused. BTW this school has had a # of exposure cases. Some classes have low PPE usage. But in the Choice programme, it seems, usage is usually 100%.

A mask mandate; more online options to create space; opening window schedules (German concept); air purifiers (and commitment to changing filters); and, plexi barriers are just some of the ideas to help keep schools open.

Do masks intefere w/ learning & are they hard to wear? Quoting the PHO. My tween twins say "no". Face brackets help. Do youth that are happy to be back have underlying stress about messy cohort sytems & no layers of protection? Mine say "yes". Let's ask youth what would help.

The @BCTF has provided a brief to the Minister of Education. It's a comprehensive list of recommendations. The NDP led gov't need to implement as many as possible. See: https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Publications/Briefs/COVID_Brief.pdf #bced @TeriMooring I'd like to add a pitch for standalone air filters. Here's why:

The typical classroom is stuffy at the best of times & we have forest fire smoke issues in Sept. In addition to HVAC improvements, standalone air filters would help to keep the air clear. We have a Levoit at home, in a large room, and it helps a lot for fire smoke and pollen.

Standalone filters would improve the quality of life in a classroom even after the pandemic. But there needs to be a commitment to buying filters and changing them on the regular. See: https://www.consumerreports.org/air-purifiers/what-to-know-about-air-purifiers-and-coronavirus/

#BCEd teacher @jheighton3 has taken on a comprehensive advocacy role, as she stays abreast of current research & shares pressing needs of staff & youth. We need more than rags & anti bac way out west! She'll be on @TheCurrentCBC with @MattGallowaycbc. https://twitter.com/jheighton3/status/1347045160861929475?s=19