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Two weeks tomorrow I go back to work. So here’s my two week thread. @AdrianaLaGrange @jkenney @CMOH_Alberta I know you’re banking on very few children getting sick. I hope with all my heart that you’re right. It’s a big gamble. #abed #ableg
However, there’s a very good chance that I, and many of my colleagues, will get sick. Some will get very sick. Some may die. Some of us will bring COVID home to our families.
You’ve given us masks, face shields and hand sanitizer, and that’s it. I need to beg you for two more things. I worry that we will have a critical shortage of substitute teachers. I see that some boards are already asking non-teachers to do that work.
As teachers get sick, or even just show symptoms of what could be a cold, they will have to stay home. We need $$ to retain substitute teachers on temporary contracts so that they can be assigned to specific schools and have some kind of protection themselves if they get sick.
And we really need to see more detailed plans around contact tracing and dealing with outbreaks in schools. We need assurances that our already overloaded system will be able to handle the huge increase in testing that will be required and that results will come quickly.
It is clear that there is no political will for a #SafeSeptember. I have accepted that. At the very least, please help us to make sure that as teachers get sick, there’s someone even remotely qualified to take their place. #VeryWorriedAB
