Teachers unions upset over March Break postponement, school boards glad it wasn’t cancelled

Teachers union representatives are expressing disappointment over the provincial government’s decision, announced Thursday by Education Minister Stephen Lecce, to postpone March Break until the week of April 12. 

“We have a large population of education workers and they're exhausted,” said Terri Lyn Della Penta, OSSTF District 2 president, speaking to SooToday.

March Break was originally scheduled for the week of March 15.

The province’s move to postpone the break is considered by the government as necessary, based on public health advice, to discourage March Break travel by students and their families between Ontario’s regions as efforts continue to contain the spread of COVID-19.

“(Educational staff are) trying to work through the pandemic, trying to do the hybrid learning that is going on in elementary schools and now in high schools as well. March Break is a much needed break in a normal year but given the added stress of a pandemic for this year, it’s a needed break. Teachers, education workers, they’re all exhausted, so hearing the postponement of March Break is disappointing,” Della Penta said.

“For students, with mental health for these poor kids, getting out there, getting a break, school’s pressure enough, but now, with the pandemic, wearing masks all day, not being able to go socialize because we are in a pandemic, not being able to do the regular things that high school and young kids do, to take away their March Break for that time of rest and recovery, it’s exhausting for everybody.”

OSSTF represents public school board high school teachers, early childhood educators, educational assistants, secretarial staff and (in the Catholic school board system) a number of noon hour aides.

“Postponing March Break could compound mental health issues at a time when many students, families, teachers, and education workers are burning out. Teachers are tired. Workload has doubled.  Stress levels are high. Many teachers were looking forward to a brief reprieve in March as they spent most of their Christmas Break preparing to pivot to a new remote style of teaching,” wrote Darrell Czop, Huron Superior Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) president, in an email.

“I am extremely concerned for the well-being of my members,” Czop emphasized.

“It is not at all clear that postponing March Break will have any impact on mitigating community spread, especially since the government is going ahead with opening other areas of the province,” Czop wrote.

“These are unprecedented times, and this is a much-needed break for students, teachers, education workers, and families who have been under tremendous pressure throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The government’s decision to postpone March Break does not take into consideration the mental health and well-being of those involved,” union officials stated in a release jointly issued Thursday by the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), OECTA and OSSTF.

“A rest is certainly needed…(but) I have to say I’m so grateful it wasn’t cancelled,” said Rose Burton Spohn, Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB) director of education, speaking to SooToday in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.

There was speculation by observers that March Break could have been postponed by the province to May, or cancelled, with the school year ending five days earlier than usual in June.

“I think if people know a break is coming (in April) that’s easier than hearing it’s not happening at all,” Burton Spohn said.

“You do worry about people's mental health and performance for sure, but the March Break, as it is now newly planned, actually aligns much closer to the end of the quadmester for us, so if there’s any bright light in all of this it’s actually closer to the end of a quadmester...we’ll keep an eye on one another because that’s what we’re called to do to the best of our ability and make sure mental health supports are in place for our students and for our staff and make sure our families know how to access those.”   

“The government is citing public health advice, so we certainly respect that the government had a very difficult decision to make and we will support the government in what they’re telling boards to do,” Burton Spohn said.

“We understand that keeping our students, families and communities safe is important. We are happy to learn that March Break is being deferred and not cancelled, and we recognize that we do what we must as our landscape is ever changing,” stated Lucia Reece, Algoma District School Board (ADSB) director of education in an email.