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Parents, students and teachers across the province are gearing up for a return to school under the shadow of a government-mandated end to a three-week-long strike by Alberta educators.
School boards have been notifying parents of a planned return for Wednesday morning after Bill 2, also called the Back to School Act, was passed in the legislature early Tuesday morning.
Teachers have been on strike since Oct. 6, after a breakdown in contract negotiations and two rejected deals.
The Edmonton Catholic School Division posted an update telling parents school will resume. A similar statement was sent to parents from the Edmonton Public School Board saying that the board is now focusing on returning to routine as fast as possible.
Both Calgary’s public and Catholic school boards, as well as Rocky View Schools, have said their schools will resume on Wednesday.
More than 51,000 teachers have been striking and about 750,000 students at public, Catholic and francophone schools have been out of school.
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Sarah Hamilton, an education professor at Mount Royal University, said it’s important to understand students have been getting varying levels of engagement with their education during the strike.
“Not all parents have the flexibility and the availability to be providing that type of support for their children,” she said.
Getting students caught up could be a longer process for some, Hamilton added. Rebuilding routines and structure — something she said is crucial for children — will also take time.
But teachers are going from being on strike to being on the clock in just a day.
Some teachers are probably scrambling to get lesson plans ready, said Vanessa Amyotte, a teacher from Spruce Grove and president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Evergreen Catholic Local 44.
She said she’s looking forward to a return to normal but noted there’s a large amount of anger about how the contract dispute was handled by the province.
Amyotte said it was like the government brought a “nuclear bomb to a crayon fight,” and now, teachers have little time to be ready for what comes next.
“The government didn’t plan for us to have time to prepare,” she said. “So we show up tomorrow morning with 35-40 kids in our room, and they’re all expecting us to have lessons planned.”
In Leduc, Lisa Paradis has also been preparing for this day. She’s been getting her children, who are in high school, back on a regular sleep schedule and keeping them in the loop on strike updates.
“They missed their friends, they missed their teachers, they missed their routine,” she said. “They were getting quite bored at home.”
While Paradis’ kids are happy to be returning to class, she’s frustrated with the outcome.
She’s worried her children have been missing out on important support in their learning, and as an education assistant, she said she’s seen a reduction of those supports. She plans to send her kids back wearing red.
“I want them to know that as a parent, I do support what they were standing for,” Paradis said.
Alberta’s government fast-tracked legislation to force striking teachers back to work. Labour leaders vow to challenge the back to school order. The CBC’s Arti Pole speaks with a parent and former Alberta school teacher.
Grande Prairie teacher Jason Smith said amid all the confusion and anxiety, Wednesday is going to be focused on connecting with parents and students.
“My first job is always to the students,” he said. “They’re going to be the ones coming anxious and scared. And they’re going to be the ones coming uncertain as to what’s going on.”
As a learning support teacher and program co-ordinator, Smith said he’s looking to find learning gaps and what supports might need to be in place.
But after the province pushed through back-to-work legislation and invoked the notwithstanding clause to protect Bill 2 from Charter challenges, Smith said he feels like his rights have been stripped away.
“Regardless of how I’m feeling, I still plan on meeting the kids at the door with a smile on.”
Source: map
