WINDSOR, ONT. -- Mario Spagnuolo, President of the Greater Essex Elementary Teachers Federation, says their “one big issue” is class sizes not being lowered.
“From grades four to eight the average class size is 24.5 so half of those classes would be over the 25 mark,” making it difficult, he says, to physically distance students.
“For four months we’ve been telling them (children) to stay separated for two meters,” Spagnuolo says. “Then after labour day, they’re going to be put in a room where there potentially won’t even be a meter between them and their classmates.”
The GECDSB plan, as directed by the province, calls for elementary students to be cohorted with their teacher, including for lunch and recess.
“Cohorted classes will stay together with one teacher with the exception of prep teachers/specialized teachers,” according to the document.
But Spagnuolo says that means those “rotary” teachers could be facing an increased risk.
“Teachers that typically teach French for example on the cart, they’ll be going into potentially five to six different classrooms on a daily basis," he said. "They could see up to 300 kids in a week.”
Spagnuolo tells CTV News this would impact 10 to 20 per cent of the 1,500 teachers Greater Essex ETFO represents.
