School board chair Andrea Grebenc puts forward a barn burner of a motion.

By Andrea Grebenc

July 17th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Chair of the Halton District School Board Andrea Grebenc moved a motion that was passed unanimously by the trustees – it was a barn burner of a speech.

Whereas Trustees are mandated by the Education Act to maintain focus on student achievement and well-being, to assist the board in delivering effective and appropriate education programs to its pupils and to bring concerns of parents, students and supporters of the board to the attention of the board;

And whereas the people of Halton enter into a social contract with the government to educate and act as childcare providers through paying taxes;

HDSB Chair Andrea Grebenc immediately after read out her strong motion.

And whereas current Ministry funding for the hybrid/adaptive 15-student model does not allow for daily, in-person student attendance;

And whereas the hybrid model forces working parents to seek alternative childcare for younger children;

And whereas childcare for potentially 36,000 Halton District School Board(HDSB) Kindergarten to grade 6 students does not currently exist in Halton Region;

And whereas the hybrid model exposes younger students that require childcare during working hours to potentially unsafe and/or unsupervised environments;

And whereas unregulated, temporary childcare situations do not require inspection to show evidence of adherence to Public Health protocols that limit the spread of the coronavirus;

And whereas temporary childcare situations may mix students from various school classes, schools and boards, exponentially exposing the contained classroom “bubble” of students and staff and risking harder-to-trace-and-contain outbreaks in various classes, schools and across boards;

And whereas childcare costs money, potentially placing families into critical financial situations that may affect student achievement and well-being;

And whereas the hybrid model increases equity gaps, felt more profoundly by racialized, indigenous, and socioeconomically disadvantaged families, as well as students with special needs;

The Gazette always saw Andrea Grebenc as a woman with potential but timid – not prepared to make challenging statements. That changed on Wednesday

And whereas the hybrid model may increase mental health issues and system stress by compressing the time to meet curriculum expectations by half;

And whereas internationally respected children’s hospitals have indicated that full-time attendance is what is best for children;

And whereas model constraints and funding does not allow for truly innovative educational solutions to come forward;

And whereas recent messaging from the provincial government regarding who will decide which of the three models will be implemented in September 2020 has been unclear;

Be it resolved that the Chair write a letter on behalf of the Board of Trustees, copying all Ontario Boards, OPSBA and local MPPs, indicating their concerns with the current part-time hybrid/adaptive model as outlined by the Ministry of Education, requesting the hybrid/adaptive model, under its current funding level, be withdrawn as an option for September 2020 for students in Kindergarten to grade six, requesting appropriate funding for the 15-student model as a daily attendance model or adjusting the model cohort parameters, and

Be it resolved that the Chair ask the Minister of Education for clarification about who the decision maker is for the September school year start up.

In comments made after the motion was tabled Grebenc said that “there are in excess of 36,000 elementary students within the Halton Board – where are those children going to be cared for should they have to distant learn.

Grebenc conferring with HDSB Director of Education Stuart Miller

“What will we get – quickly formed day care centre’s that are not regulated, not inspected with other children coming from who knows where.  The bubbles that most families created to ensure their kids were safe would not be feasible.”

In the years we have watched Grebenc slowly develop a platform she was passionate about. wondering if we would every see one.  It was on display at the school board on Wednesday.

Now Andrea Grebenc, try to move beyond a polite letter.