BARRHEAD - Thirty-three students at Barrhead Composite High School have tested positive for COVID-19 throughout the 2020-2021 school year, 10 of which were not school-related.
However, the impact of these cases has affected far more students than those who tested positive, as BCHS students who were considered close contacts have been forced into isolation a total of 1,198 times throughout the past year, which is nearly double the school’s current enrolment.
This has not only had an impact on students’ education but also their mental health, principal Darcie Eamor and associate principal Greg Ferguson stressed to Pembina Hills trustees at their June 9 meeting.
It’s been particularly frustrating in the last couple of weeks for the students to be sent home, as they had literally just returned to class on May 25 following several weeks of at-home learning.
Eamor told the board about a situation they experienced on June 3, when they received notice around 10:30 a.m. that one of the Grade 12 students had tested positive.
At the time, there were supposed to be parents outside of the building handing out grad packages, Eamor said. She had to go outside and tell some of the Grade 12 students that they needed to go home.
“I had numerous students in tears. I had kids telling me, ‘This is my third time I’m out of here.’ It breaks my heart to actually have to send these kids home,” she said.,
“They are so frustrated. I had kids telling me, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to graduate.’”
Later, when they tracked down other Grade 12 students inside the building who needed to go into isolation, Eamor said she had one student come into the office and “absolutely (lose) it,” yelling and shouting.
“I share that with you so that you understand that these kids desperately want to be here at school, and this disruption to their Grade 12 year has been extremely emotionally challenging for them,” Eamor said.
Eamor pointed out that while Alberta Health Services informs them of positive cases, the job of reaching out to close contacts generally falls to school staff. And so they have been called upon to make calls and send out e-mails on weekday nights and even weekends.
“We know it’s better for parents if we can get that contact list out to them in the evening,” Eamor said. “It is a whole different ball game when we have to start sending kids home during the school day.”
Enrolment dip
Ferguson briefly shared how COVID-19 had also affected enrolment at BCHS. They were expecting 693 students prior to the 2020-2021 school year and their current enrolment sits at 613, a decrease of 80 students and approximately eight to nine per cent of the student body.
Eamor said a large chunk of Grade 12 students switched over to Vista Virtual School, though some ended up being re-directed to BCHS after they learned there is a huge gap between home schooling and the at-home learning they experienced in the last three months of 2019-2020.
Incidentally, Ferguson noted that the frequent switches to at-home learning throughout the year were a source of frustration.
In spite of provincial authorities seemingly believing that transitioning from in-person classes to at-home learning occurs like a light switch, Ferguson said the actual transition from one to the other actually takes about a week as they need to make sure students have the technology they need in hand.
Eamor suggested that the switch to at-home learning in December was far easier than the switch that occurred in May, as they could actually make allowances for students to come into the school for extra help or if they lacked Internet access.
“When they were able to come in even just once a week, we had way more success,” Eamor said.
Eamor noted that they learned lessons from the last three months of the 2019-2020 school year and knew to maintain a regular bell schedule with the students, ensuring that they all signed into Google Meets at the same time. Still, the novelty of at-home learning has definitely worn off for many students.
Ferguson also highlighted the inconsistent messaging from provincial authorities as one of the more frustrating parts of the past year, as parents who spoke to Alberta Health Services representatives would sometimes hear different information than what they were being told.
As well, what was being shared during provincial COVID-19 updates by government officials or the chief medical officer was also sometimes inconsistent with information elsewhere.
This feeds into the ugliest part of the past year: the aggressive and highly negative feedback they have sometimes gotten from parents, particularly those convinced that COVID-19 was just a farce.
“This last round of isolations has definitely been worse,” said Ferguson.
That said, not all parents were negative. Eamor recounted that many people understand that public health restrictions and isolation requirements were not the decision of BCHS staff.
She recounted one instance where a parent called her and asked flat out if these were AHS' rules or the school's rules. When Eamor answered it was the former, the parent was understanding.
The report did contain some positives, such as how well staff adapted to the use of technology for at-home learning and how the elimination of lockers basically led to a decrease in tardiness and lost items.
