School absences triple in just weeks as UCP doubles down on no masking

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School absences due to illness have tripled in Calgary’s public schools over the past few weeks, even as the UCP government continues to be adamant about not reinstating mask mandates.

Parents say stress levels are incredibly high as respiratory illnesses continue to rise among children — a combination of influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and COVID-19 — but no data is being shared by the province or school boards.

“Schools are dealing with mass disruptions yet again, the fourth school year into this pandemic,” said Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman for the Support Our Students advocacy group.

“Yet parents are expected to just fly blind, with no information, no data, more kids and teachers missing from school, and no health measures.”

Moussa, who has three school-aged kids in the public system, said two were home sick last week, and now the third is home sick this week.

“It’s the inconsistency in the classroom, kids get sick they miss school, they get behind. Teachers get sick, they miss, the class gets behind.

“At some point we are going to need some leadership and assess how much longer we can do this.”

The Calgary Board of Education has confirmed that student absenteeism is now at 12.95 per cent, up significantly from the eight per cent from two weeks ago and more than triple the 4.06 average of last month.

Chief superintendent Chris Usih addressed the CBE board of trustees at its meeting Tuesday, admitting that absenteeism due to illness is becoming an “emergent” issue.

“Like so many other school boards across the country, we are experiencing higher-than-normal levels of illness . . . significantly higher than we would expect at this time of year.”

Usih added that despite hiring 200 additional substitute teachers for this academic year, CBE is struggling to staff schools as a growing number of teachers are also off sick.

“This past week, between 160 to 270 teaching positions are remaining unfilled each day, and up to 100 support staff positions remain unfilled,” Usih said.

“This puts significant pressures on some of our schools . . . We have to significantly change the organization of our staff and students to ensure learning continues.”

Usih said that as administrators and other support staff double up on duties, parents are being alerted that individual classes, and at times full grades, may soon have to move to online, at-home learning.

Still, Usih would not go so far as recommending students or staff wear masks in schools, saying only that it is “an available option.”

At the same time, about 28 per cent of the 117 schools with Calgary Catholic School District are experiencing absenteeism greater than 10 per cent, a significant jump from last week when 17 per cent had 10 per cent or more students away due to illness.

Unlike school boards in Calgary, the Edmonton Public School Board posts absence rates on its website, showing nearly 14 per cent absenteeism late last week. And the Edmonton Catholic School District now has now 15 per cent of students away due to illness.

But this week, Premier Danielle Smith doubled down on refusing to bring back mask mandates in schools.

“We’re not going to be mandating masks. We heard loud and clear from parents that they want a normal school environment for their kids,” she said Monday at a news conference.

The comments came the same day Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, strongly recommended everyone wear masks in all indoor spaces, including schools, but stopped short of an official mask mandate.

eferguson@postmedia.com