N.S. student absences double the norm for first week back in classroom

About twice as many Nova Scotia students stayed home from school in the first week of in-person learning than usual.

Figures from six of the eight school districts for Grades Primary to 12 show the average absentee rate for the third week in January over the past two years was 8.3 per cent. This year, the rate for that same week jumped to 17.6 per cent.

Families are not obligated to give the reason for calling in an absence, so it's impossible to know how many absences were due to illness (related to COVID-19 or otherwise) or any other reason.

Some of the regional centres for education said weather may have been a factor in last week's attendance, given the winter storm that hit early in the week.  

Some families have elected to keep students home because of COVID-19 anxiety, as the Omicron wave continues to spread across the province. 

Schools have been open to in-person learning during other waves of the pandemic, but concern about school spread has been elevated this time around because of Public Health's discontinuation of contact tracing and exposure notification for cases connected to schools.

No matter the reason for the absences, the Department of Education clarified earlier this week that although there is no virtual learning option, teachers are to continue the typical practice of making work available to students who miss class.

CBC News excluded the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education and the CSAP, the French school board, which provided incomplete data.

School staff absences

Premier Tim Houston said on Wednesday that average attendance in Nova Scotia schools this week was in the range of 85 per cent. He said 11 per cent of teachers and school staff in Nova Scotia were absent on Tuesday.

"That does put some stress on the system but it's manageable at this point," Houston said, adding there have not been any operational interruptions in schools so far.   

Houston also acknowledged some delays due to a shortage of bus drivers but said more staff are in the process of being brought on board.

He said some challenges were always expected with the return to school, but said most Nova Scotians agree schools are the best place for students.

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No school notifications

In an email to CBC News, Nova Scotia's Department of Education maintained that schools are a lower risk setting for COVID-19 because of the protection provided by enhanced public health measures. Spokesperson Jenna MacQueen said notifications of COVID-19 cases in schools are not necessary because everyone is aware COVID-19 is present.

"People need to assume they are being exposed any time they are around other people, diligently follow public health measures, and continually monitor their own health," MacQueen said.  

"In the past, principals have provided notification on behalf of Public Health. At this stage in the pandemic, Public Health has said that contact-tracing is no longer effective at reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools.

"Like most other provinces, Nova Scotia schools are not close contact tracing or providing class-wide or school-wide notifications. If parents and teachers and staff want to notify people about their personal health information, they are free to do so."

Strang said Wednesday during a provincial briefing that he does not believe transmission from students to family members will cause a large increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province.  

"That's a potential [risk] but I don't believe it's a huge risk. We've said all along, it's not just schools... Whether it's school or work or shopping... if you're out in the public, you're at risk of being exposed," Strang said.  

"If there are people in your life who are at increased risk because of age or underlying chronic conditions... people who are around them need to be very careful," Strang said, emphasizing vaccinations and following public health measures. 

Private school switches to online learning

Several schools outside Nova Scotia's public system are keeping children out of the classroom for now.

Among them is Kings-Edgehill in Windsor, N.S. — the senior classes switched to online learning for the week after seven students tested positive.

"You could sense the anxiety, you could sense the emotional level of the school, the parents, the student body," said Joseph Seagram, the headmaster, who is calling the break an "emotional circuit breaker."

Membertou school closed

In the Mi'kmaw community of Membertou, the school and daycare have been closed since Christmas.

There have been 88 COVID-19 cases in the community, so Darren Googoo, the director of education, says they had to err on the side of caution.

"We've created an environment where online learning is something we're able to do well," he said.

Googoo says they shared the province's concerns that schools provide a place of safety and nutritious meals for children, so they reopened the kitchen at Maupltuewey Kina'matno'kuom school.

"We have drive-up windows to our school and daycare where the parents can come pick up lunches for their children."

Googoo says they're hoping to return to the classroom in mid-February but that all depends on the number of COVID-19 cases.