Teachers across New Brunswick are preparing to return to the classroom for the last few weeks of the school year.
The Department of Education announced teachers and school staff will head back to work next week.
Starting June 1, a phased approach will be used to ensure staff are not all brought in at once and physical distancing protocols can be met.
Teachers will be working to tie up loose ends from the 2020 school year while looking ahead to the return of classes in September.
Superintendent Zoe Watson with the Anglophone South School District says safety has been the number one concern as schools prepare for the return of staff.
“People have been at home for quite a while, and I think it’s positive that we have these plans in place because some people may have anxiety about coming back into the workplace and wondering if it is a safe place to be,” Watson said.
Among the safety measures taken by schools is signage encouraging staff to monitor for symptoms, hand sanitizers next to high-traffic equipment like photocopiers, and direction signs in hallways to ensure physical distancing regulations can be met.
While the school district oversees the broad strokes of a return, individual schools also play a part in ensuring the safety of returning staff.
“We needed to have a safe return to work plan developed, and each school will be asked to develop a safe return to work plan,” said Watson.
The school district has kept in contact with staff through remote meetings over the past few months.
In addition to organizing classroom work, Watson said teachers will also be preparing for the possibility that online learning becomes necessary again down the road.
“We’re not sure what the fall is going to look like. But we know if at any time there was to be an outbreak, education would be back with online learning,” she said.
Teachers will be taking professional development courses to prepare them for the possibility of more online learning.
