Seven excellent coping strategies for teachers, staff and students

BY PAUL JUNOR

The announcement that schools will be closed two or more weeks is not surprising. On the basis of recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and health officials who are part of the COVID-19 Command Table, the provincial government extended the closure of schools.

In an announcement on Sunday, April 27^th he stated, “We will do whatever it takes to keep our students safe. The government is taking a careful approach which provides our medical experts the time to review the modelling and make the best decision for the safety of our students and the future of learning.” Ontario was the first province in Canada to close all its schools.

In order to help students, continue their academic learning the province has initiated a Learn at Home portal for the estimated two million students who are in elementary and secondary schools in March. At the end of March, they launched the second phase of the Learn at Home portal, which was intended to “Provide clarity for parents, enhancing education supports and creating opportunities for educators to connect with students,” (Minister of Education, Stephen Leece).

Peel District School Board (PDSB has dispensed 14,500 laptops and tablets as well as 1,900 Wi-Fi enabled devices/routers. This was specifically targeted to students who did not have personal electronic device or access to internet service. Peter Joshua, Director of the PDSB posted on Sunday, April 26^th that all elementary and secondary school graduation and commencement ceremonies that were supposed to occur in the spring has been postponed. He notes, “We share in this disappointment. We know that graduation is a special moment in the lives of students and their families, but keeping everyone safe, must be our top priority.”

John Malloy (Director of the Toronto District School Board) in a letter posted on the website wrote, “While not unexpected, I know this extension of the closure will be challenging news for many as we continue social distancing for additional weeks. Please know that we remain focused on the health and well-being of our students, staff and their families, while continuing to support students learning at home in a variety of ways. During these uncertain times, that continues to be our best priority.”

Colleen Russell-Rawlins, Associate Director Equity, Well-Being, Early Years and Improvement at the TDSB posted some excellent coping strategies for teachers, staff and students. They include each of the following:

1. Acknowledge what you can and cannot control and adjust your expectations
2. Maintain a positive attitude. It helps you cope with whatever comes your way
3. Find little ways to embrace the change
4. Connect with others
5. Listen to your feelings and know that it’s ok to not be ok
6. Maintain a sense of humour-laughter can be a great way to cope
7. Seek help when needed

There are many additional resources that are available in addition to those posted by the Ministry of Education at the Learn at Home portal for elementary and secondary students at www.edu.gov.org. It has expanded this portal from the first phase to the second phase to include a new set of expectations for the education community such as:

1. Reconnecting students with teachers and other staff, as well as mental health workers
2. Finalizing teacher-led learning for grade groupings
3. Leveraging digital resources
4. Developing a program of training for educators
5. Requiring final report cards for all students
6. Prioritizing and supporting students
7. Prioritizing and supporting students on track to graduate
8. Distributing laptop, and/or devices from schools to students across the province.

TVO has enhanced its service and extend its hours of operation from 9am – 9 pm between Monday -Friday and 3:30 pm – 9:00 pm on Sunday. They have added more certified teachers that are available for free one-on-one to support students learn-at-home needs. TVO Mathify now includes support for grade 6-10 math tutoring.

Free tutoring is available:

Math and Science students from CAUSE Free tutoring at (https://causrtutoring.org/online-extra-help.services_during covid-19)

Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/)

High school students can access materials at https:// courseware.cemc.uwaterloo.ca as well as cen.acs.org.

Nelson online textbooks are available at https//:www.mynelson.com/mynelson/staticconnect/html/PublicLogin.html.

Free digital resources are at https:// boreal. com/covid_19digitalresources_from_trusted_partners,  and free distance learning software at https://boreal.com/cms/civic 19_distance_learning_software_applications.

The PDSB has provided extra help for its students at its www.peelschool.org. There are online supplemental resources, online libraries and database that students can assess through their BYOD account and other materials at the board’s Help your child webpage.