We are Alberta's public education advocates, fighting for the right of all children to an equitable and accessible public education system.
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SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS
calls on Alberta government to implement safe school re-opening strategies Read more |
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Updated August 22, 2021
COVID-19 & Schools
Testing, tracing, isolating
On July 28, 2021, the Alberta government made the shocking announcement that the province would be lifting almost all basic public health protocols like COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and mandatory isolation (TTI) for those who test positive. Data and case reporting will also be significantly scaled back. The final phase was to be implemented August 16, just 2 weeks prior to the start of the 2021/22 school year. These are foundational pillars of general public health monitoring. After 15 days of sustained protests and citizen engagement (including advocacy by parents, families, and students), the government backed down and re-instated community testing, (some) tracing, and isolating for 6 more weeks, at least until September 27.
Caveat: schools will NO LONGER be supported by Alberta Health Services
However, though community TTI will be maintained in some form until Sept 27, government released back-to-school guidelines which eliminated Alberta Health Services' reporting of school case notifications. Schools will not be required to share COVID-19 positive cases with families. School community members do not need to disclose positive test results to schools. This dismantling of the public health support for schools is unacceptable. Alberta Health Services' reporting was foundational to being able to track cases in schools and for families to make informed decisions. Knowing about cases of COVID-19 in a classroom should be a basic provision.
What YOU can do:
1. Write to your provincial Member of Legislative Assembly or School Board Trustee.
2. Follow up with a phone call.
3. Email your city councillor to re-instate emergency bylaws to protect students riding transit to school in Sept.
Use municipal letter tools here: Edmonton | Calgary
4. Talk to your family and friends about your concerns and how you feel about not being offered basic positive case notifications within schools
Testing, tracing, isolating
On July 28, 2021, the Alberta government made the shocking announcement that the province would be lifting almost all basic public health protocols like COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and mandatory isolation (TTI) for those who test positive. Data and case reporting will also be significantly scaled back. The final phase was to be implemented August 16, just 2 weeks prior to the start of the 2021/22 school year. These are foundational pillars of general public health monitoring. After 15 days of sustained protests and citizen engagement (including advocacy by parents, families, and students), the government backed down and re-instated community testing, (some) tracing, and isolating for 6 more weeks, at least until September 27.
Caveat: schools will NO LONGER be supported by Alberta Health Services
However, though community TTI will be maintained in some form until Sept 27, government released back-to-school guidelines which eliminated Alberta Health Services' reporting of school case notifications. Schools will not be required to share COVID-19 positive cases with families. School community members do not need to disclose positive test results to schools. This dismantling of the public health support for schools is unacceptable. Alberta Health Services' reporting was foundational to being able to track cases in schools and for families to make informed decisions. Knowing about cases of COVID-19 in a classroom should be a basic provision.
What YOU can do:
1. Write to your provincial Member of Legislative Assembly or School Board Trustee.
2. Follow up with a phone call.
3. Email your city councillor to re-instate emergency bylaws to protect students riding transit to school in Sept.
Use municipal letter tools here: Edmonton | Calgary
4. Talk to your family and friends about your concerns and how you feel about not being offered basic positive case notifications within schools
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*NEW* AVAILABLE AUGUST 22, 2021
Online Letter Writing Tool: Contact your MLA or Board Trustee www.safeschoolsAB.ca 
Start writing here >>
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These bodies of experts urge AB govt to continue testing, tracing & isolating: |
COVID-19 School Tracker (2020/21)
Support Our Students AB volunteers tirelessly tracked COVID-19 cases in Alberta K-12 schools through the help of parent/community case submissions. Cases of COVID-19 identified in students or education workers within the school context were logged from
September 2020 -June 2021. Over 12,000 cases were tracked by our organization.
Over 4,000 notification letters were received
We logged 12,067 cases in 1,526 schools and 1,873 alerts/outbreaks Over 1200 volunteer hours were poured into the tracker
Over 430,000 Albertans visited the tracker a total of 4 million times
10 Strategies for Equitable Public Education
We would like the Alberta Government to redefine and recommit the government’s responsibility to a more equitable public education system for all Alberta students.
- Make high quality early childhood education universal and accessible, leveling the playing field and closing the achievement gap for underprivileged children.
- Build schools as community engagement centres, comprehensive facilities where children and citizens can participate physically, intellectually and civically.
- Eliminate ALL barriers including all school-related fees (including, but not limited to, instructional materials, bussing, lunch supervision) and application procedures.
- All schools should have a full, inclusive, and balanced curriculum including but not limited to arts, music, science, history, language arts, additional languages, mathematics, and physical education.
- Reduce class sizes to bring them in line with the recommendations in the Alberta Learning Commission report of 2003 & provide adequate supports for classroom complexity.
- Integrate charter schools into public system, eliminating all fees and ability to deny access.
- Provide integrated services for students including medical and social services that help children keep up with advantaged peers. One in six Alberta children live in poverty.
- Reduce emphasis on high stakes standardized testing. Provide alternative and more comprehensive criteria for measuring student success.
- Return to specialization for teachers at all grade levels.
- Recognize that public education is a public responsibility not a consumer good. Its quality and accessibility should be equitable across the province.