Students still do not have the equipment they need, even though the second week of the school year has already passed

It’s been two weeks since the start of the school year, and some high school students still don’t have access to the technology they need to learn on the days they have to stay home.

As part of the COVID-19 return-to-school plan, high school students in most areas are attending classes in person every other day. The remaining days are to be spent at home, remotely.

The province has developed a specification sheet for the technology needed to accomplish this goal, including a laptop or tablet with specific capabilities. Parents who cannot afford it have been asked to contact their provincial government and apply for assistance. Some of these students received their laptops last week, some this week.

However, Zoë Watson, headteacher of Anglophone South, said that as of Friday afternoon six of the 14 secondary schools in her region still had pupils waiting for the technology.

“We will be working on this throughout September,” she said. “This has never happened before in our province. So it’s going to take a while.”

She said not all of those students are waiting for the province to deliver the technology. Some are waiting for delivery from other distributors.

She said those students are sent home with homework from teachers. Some are using their phones or have other ways to connect to the internet.

“But the province specified that it would be a laptop or tablet, and there were certain specifications that had to be met,” Watson said. “So teachers are adjusting until everyone gets a laptop.”

Education Secretary Dominic Cardy has canceled a scheduled interview on Friday on lessons learned from the past two weeks. He did not provide an explanation.

Allison Butcher’s 15-year-old daughter does have technology, but because not everyone is equipped, her classes have stalled.

“I don’t think it was the teachers’ fault, the administrators’ fault. I think it was the higher levels where they were making these plans,” she said from her home in Sackville. “Parents didn’t know what was going on. Educators, teachers didn’t know what was going on until the end of August.”

She added that her daughter is still trying to regulate her sleep schedule and develop a routine.

“She’s still struggling with the lack of continuity, and she’s a pretty laid-back girl,” she said.

Butcher said not all of her daughter’s classmates are tech-ready, so it’s difficult for teachers to develop a unified learning plan.

However, she added that the alternative would be to leave children without laptops, and that is something she does not want for her community.

“You know, you can’t prescribe a whole set of tasks when a large portion of the student population doesn’t have access to technology yet,” she said. “I really feel like they’re getting half as much education now as they did in previous years.”

Butcher hopes that once everyone gets their technology in order, her daughter will be able to make better use of her remote learning days.

Other age groups fare better

Mohammad Bakhash of Fredericton said his eight-year-old daughter remembered the mask herself this week. For him, it was a sign that he was getting used to his new routine: pack a lunch box, take books, put on a mask and use hand sanitizer.

“Everything is going well, but it is no longer normal,” he said.

Butcher said her middle school child settled into the routine more quickly.

“My 12-year-old is starting to feel some continuity and everything is starting to feel normal to her,” she said.

Masks and consumables available

Watson said everything is going as smoothly as possible given the circumstances. She said students are diligent about wearing masks, but the district has concerns about whether they follow the habit when leaving campus for lunch.

She added that essential supplies are available, including sanitizers and masks for students who forget to bring theirs.

In response to an interview request, Anglophone West Superintendent David McTimoney sent a statement via email. He said he was pleased with the way the school year had started, but the biggest challenges were transportation and technology for secondary school students.

“The inconvenience has now been resolved and we are very pleased to be able to contact students on a personal basis again,” he said.

Meredith Caissie, spokeswoman for Anglophone North, also sent a statement in response to the interview. She said the district had only one week of school and was taking a “soft start approach.” She said everything is going well for now.

“I’m sure we’ll have more sightings to share by the end of the month,” she wrote.

Transport problems

Transportation was a problem due to traffic congestion caused by more parents driving their children instead of sending them on the school bus. Bus routes have also been changed to ensure physical distancing is maintained on buses.

In an emailed statement, Department of Education spokeswoman Tara Chislette said the province is aware of transportation difficulties and is working with districts to address traffic issues, but did not say how.

Watson said there is a lot of work to be done to fix all the problems in the system as students get used to the new way of running school.

“It seems like every week there are new things we have to work on and stay calm about,” she said.

“We certainly thank parents for their patience as we go through this because we know it’s been a very different start to school for our families.”