The proposed reopening date for school in Saint Lucia is September 7. The announcement was made today, Monday during a press conference with the Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary Michelle Charles, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Dr. Fiona Mayer and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Sharon Belmar-George. School is expected to change dramatically with adjustments to the school week, the observation of physical distancing in classrooms, single class assemblies and a suspension of inter-school sporting activities.
“Our reality is that for the next two years, we will be managing COVID. What are our options? Do we keep schools closed for that period of time? Looking at where we are in relation to the disease, looking at what we’ve put in place to be able to manage, we are at a point where we can safely ask the children to come in,” said the CMO.
The decision to reopen schools, she said, is guided by a risk-based approach to protect the health, and promote the safety of students, teachers, staff and the community. She noted that only a small proportion of COVID-19 cases are children, and that they are less likely to be hospitalized, or have fatal outcomes compared to adults. Children are also more likely to have mild or asymptomatic infection, the CMO said.
“Very few significant outbreaks of COVID-19 have been documented in schools. Investigations of cases identified in school settings suggest that child-to-child transmissions in schools in uncommon and not the primary cause of infection while attending school. if the necessary measures of physical distancing and hygiene are applied, schools are unlikely to be the environment for the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Belmar-George.
Citing data from European Union countries, she noted that reopening schools has not been associated with significant increases in community transmission. Additionally, she said that available evidence also indicates that the closure of child-care and educational institutions are unlikely to be an effective single control measure for community transmission. Nonetheless she stressed that the full reopening of schools must be done in a careful and coordinated manner, with increased surveillance by the Ministry of Health.
CEO Dr. Mayer stated that there was significant engagement throughout the education sector with organizations like the National Students Council, National Principals’ Association, St. Lucia Teachers’ Union, the National Youth Council, among others. The CEO laid out the two ways in which schools will operate.
Option 1: Whole School Approach
This will be used by primary and secondary schools with a small student population. In this option, students will attend school for four days per week (Monday to Thursday), with Friday serving as a planning day for teachers, and a General Sanitization Day for the school plant. “We note that we have some schools with as many as 1000 children, we have primary schools with 500 children. Option 1 would not fit in that situation, therefore for those schools we’re looking at alternate instructional days,” said the CEO.
Option 1 will be used by 35 primary schools and 6 secondary schools.
Option 2: Alternate Instructional Days
In this option, students will attend school on alternate days. For example, a child will attend school on Monday, stay at home on Tuesday and return to school on Wednesday. The days when students are not at school will be used for “distributed learning activities” — this includes doing work received from teachers virtually, activity sheets, project-based work etc.
The CEO noted that every school using option 2 will have an orientation exercise for parents, where specific information will be provided. “So we do not want our parents to be too alarmed. ‘What day is my child going to get school?’… that information will be provided,” she said. “Every parent will receive a calendar…So the parent will clearly know when the child is meant to be at school.”
This option will be used by 44 primary schools and 16 secondary schools.
What to do if your child falls sick
The CMO urged parents to take their child to the nearest respiratory clinic for testing and care, if he/she develops a fever, cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath. “So the first line of action is to ensure that if your child has developed fever, is coughing, or seems to have respiratory signs and symptoms, you take this child for care and not allow this child to come into school,” said Dr. Belmar-George.
She acknowledged that there are some children with other chronic conditions like asthma who would have difficulty keeping masks on. In such cases, the WHO recommends the use of a face shield, she said.
The Permanent Secretary added that no child will be sent home if they do not have a mask/ face shield but encouraged parents to provide their child with the equipment. (Each school will have an additional supply of masks/shields in the event that a child is without one). Temperature checks will be done at schools and hand-washing stations will be in operation.
School/Facility Fees will not be waived
The Permanent Secretary informed viewers that fees have not been waived and encouraged parents to engage their child’s school if they are unable to make the full payment. “We recognize that of course these are challenging times, however the schools themselves do need to put things in place. But consideration is being given in the circumstances should a parent not be able to pay the full fee upfront at the beginning of the school year, that on an individual basis, that conversation can be had with the school principal which would allow for a payment plan of some sort to be established,” the PS stated.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
“We are keenly aware that our children have been away from school for a while,” said Dr. Mayer. “You know it takes a bit of time, including our teachers and administrators to get accustomed to coming back. So we continuously work with our head counselor and the entire team to support the psychosocial needs of our children and stakeholders.”
Parents of students in need of mental health or psychosocial support can reach out for assistance by emailing joycelyn.eugene@education.gov.lc or call the 311 hotline. Staff in need of similar services can make use of the counselling services provided by the government.
Support Services including the Transportation Subsidy Program, School Feeding Program and Book Bursary will continue.
