It's decision time as parents consider sending their kids back to school

Local school boards and parents are trying to finalize their back-to-school plans for the fall but with Windsor-Essex the last region to enter Stage 3, that means they have less time than others to prepare.

On Wednesday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit provided its official back-to-school guidelines.

Health officials have been working with the school boards in the region to prepare their guidelines and outlooks for this coming September.

The health unit's recommendations include:

• Schools ensuring the maintenance of physical distancing wherever possible.

• Cleaning and sanitization stations for staff and students.

• Mask-wearing in all indoor spaces and education with how to wear and maintain masks properly.

• Regular sanitization of high-touch surfaces.

• Allowing children to clean their stations and education about how to do so properly.

• Safe transport to school, with one student/household per seat and limited number of riders.

• PPE for school bus drivers and monitors.

• Masks and/or face coverings for all students on buses.

• Drop-off zones to safely exit vehicle and move into schools without congregating.

With the deadline looming for parents of students in both the public and Catholic boards to decide if they want to send enrol their children for in-person or online classes, some parents like Sheena McKay feel they don't have enough information to come to a final decision.

"For me, the biggest issue with making the deadline ... is not having all the information yet," said McKay who has until Monday to decide if she'll be sending her child to in-person classes in the Catholic board. "We don't actually know what remote learning will look like."

She added there's been little clarity on protocol if an outbreak were to occur at a school — and without that information, she feels parents will struggle to make a more informed decision.

"Going back to school, from what I've heard from our board, I really do think they are doing everything that they can," said McKay, adding she believes the changes that schools across Windsor-Essex will experience will be in place for the long term.

"We can't prevent it. This is a 'mitigate it and figure out how we're all going to cope' [situation]. And I actually think that going that route is wise and letting parents know that is wise because that's how life is going to be for the next little while," said McKay.

McKay said since both she and her husband work at home, her family has options, but it can be stressful. She added her kids do want to go back to school — but McKay says she will ensure her kids are wearing a mask at all times if they do.

On Tuesday, a trustee from the Greater Essex County District School Board proposed a motion to have high school students in Leamington and Kingsville start the year through remote learning.

"In looking at the reopening plan that was presented to us, I felt it really didn't recognize the niche and the specific conditions for those in Leamington and Kingsville to give assurance to parents that they're making informed decisions and that we've really prepared," said trustee Julia Burgess.

The motion was met with some pushback from fellow trustees and ultimately did not pass.

Both boards are giving parents until Monday to make a final decision. Officials with the public board, however, advise parents that there are limited opportunities during the school year to switch from at-home to in-person learning.

Elementary students attending in-person classes in the public board will be coming in five days a week, with the same arrangements available for children with special education needs. Each classroom will perform all activities together, including lunch and recess, as a way of minimizing the number of students each is in touch with, the plan states.

Parents who choose to keep their elementary-age kids at home will enrol them in remote, online classes and have a learning schedule provided.