Teachers say bittersweet goodbye to an Ontario school year like no other

When Nancy Hanna said goodbye to herKindergarten studentsthis week, it didn't feel right.

She says June is usually a wonderfultime of celebration and closure but ending Kindergarten over a Google Meet just isn't the same.

"You feel unsettled," said Hanna, a teacher atDunlace Public School in Toronto.

Meanwhile, Cindy Law was emotional watching her Grade 12 students drive through a parking lot of cheering teachers to pick up their graduation caps, taking care to physically distance as they went.

"Our heart was breaking for these Grade 12s," saidLaw, her voice cracking with tears."You take for granted how important face-to-face communication is," she said, referring to months of teaching students online due to the novel coronavirus.

As the final week of school wraps up, exhausted Ontarioteachers say goodbye to anunparalleledyear of challenges while still wondering and worrying about what will happenin September amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between strikes over education cuts, work-to-rule and virtual classes, thiswas the most "extreme year" of Constance Marsh's 28-yearcareer.

"We were all in tears;we didn't know what we were doing," said Marsh, who teachesGrades 3 and 5at Sheppard Public School.

Her colleagues wrestled with Google Classroom when schools shut down afterMarch Break, Marsh says, andher students had no motivation to log on.

"It was awful."

Teachers were abruptly forced tofigure out online learning when schools closedto curb COVID-19, often struggling with a dramatically different form of teaching whilecaring forchildren of their own at home.

As a high school teacher, Law waspulling at least one all-nighter a week to prepare online lessons, whileparenting two grade-school kids.

Meanwhile, some of her students were also working part-time jobs or taking care of family members during COVID-19, saidLaw, who teaches science atWilliam Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute.

"My heart just aches for what could have been a great year, but just turned out to be one of the most emotional years of my teaching career," said Amos, who teaches at McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia and is a single mom to a seven-year-old son.

School boards prepping 3 plans for September

After a tumultuous semester, it's still unclear what September will look like which makes planning difficult for teachers.

The province has told school boards to prepare for three scenarios:a full return to class with safety measures;continued online learning;or a blend ofboth.

Education Minister Stephen Lecceis emphasizing thatblended model for September, where smaller groups of students would alternate betweenin-person and online learning.

Leccesaid teachers will have a full day of training for online learning before school starts. Speaking on CBC'sMetro Morning Thursday, he emphasized addedfunding for school boards,which will represent a two-per-cent increase.

"We want this to be safe, we want this to be positive, we also recognize it's going to be a tough start. So we have to make those investments," said Lecce.

ButHanna doubts a mixed model could work in a "realistic and safe way" andsays it seems likeLecce doesn't understand what happens in an elementaryschool class.

"There are just so many moving parts," said Hanna, pointing todiverse needs in every classroom and new safety measures that will be tough for young kids to follow.

"I don't see how it would work."

Marsh doesn't blame the provincial government for the challenges and uncertainty. However, she doesn't think one teacher could manage both online and in-class learning.

"Realistically one teacher couldn't do all this," shesaid

New math curriculumwith 'not enough notice'

The new school yearwill also mean a newelementary math curriculum in September, the government announced Tuesday.

"It's not enough notice for teachers," said Tracy Walters,who teaches Grade 7 and 9 atTecumseh Senior Public School in Scarborough.

She says teachers shouldn't be expected to train on a new curriculum during their summer break.

Walters says staff will need more support in September.She wants to see a clear planfrom school boards and government for how the new school year will work, focused on thewell-being of staff and students.

If kids are back in class, she'll also have to figure out child care for her one-year-old son.

"When you don't know what's going on in September, you can't really plan."

Mark Kinoshitaactually "had fun" playing around with live science lessons during COVID-19 although it took about eight hours to make anhour of live lessons.

Kinoshita said his department at North Toronto Collegiate Institutehas been scrambling to catch up with government announcements.

"[The] lack of information that's passed down has been the biggest stressor on our department for the last three months," he said, adding that scheduling timetableswill be a massive challenge in a hybrid back-to-school model.

Lecce says boards will have more money forareas like mental health, technology, enhanced cleaning and special education.

But Hanna says the new funding and promise of 37,000 new laptops doesn't amount to much whenbroken down among the school boards.

Rachael Amos feels teachers are well supported for the upcoming year, but says it's students who will need more support with online learning.

"The kids were thrown into this without a lot of training on how to access even their email," she said, noting that many of her studentsat McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia have poor access to running water and Internet.

As a single mom to a seven-year-old, Amos said in an email,"there were very few days we both got all our work done" as she and her childtried to share a laptop.

School boards planning for September

The Peel District School Board saysstaff will be creating plansto support staff, students and families.

"Staff will continue working through the summer so that we're ready," said Ryan Bird, spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board says they are doing surveys to help guide their final plans. Professional learning sessions are available for thoseteaching primary and junior summer school, said spokespersonShazia Vlahos, and teachers can sign up for additional qualifications.

In the meantime, Hanna is closing her Google Classroomfor the summer but hopesto see students in-person again soon.

"What happens in the classroom is a really magical thing," saidHanna.

"It's not something that is easily transferable to the online forum."