Parents share mixed feelings about return to in-person learning
Students across Ontario go back to in-person learning on Monday, but many parents share mixed feelings over a return to the classroom amid the Omicron wave.
"I think we're a little apprehensive to send our son back. He's in junior kindergarten," Lisa Atkinson told CTV News. "But we're also happy to have him going back with his friends and being in school and learning with his teacher."
Schools closed for winter break on Dec. 17 before soaring COVID-19 cases sparked a temporary regression to remote learning.
"The kids need to get back to their friends, back to a regular routine," said Sarah Tangney. "And it's important for parents to get back to that too."
The latest provincial guidelines mean fewer people qualify for PCR tests. Students will be given two rapid antigen tests when they go back to class on Monday, but the government will no longer require schools to notify families of each case of exposure. Absentee rates will be tracked instead.
"As a parent I feel in the dark. They've changed all the guidelines within the last week. The lack of reporting, the lack of testing, I really won't know what's going on," Jessica Sennet said.
Some parents say it would be more reassuring if decisions on in-person learning came from an advisory group, rather than the government.
"I think that's what makes it more worrying or feel less secure, is that there's so much politics going on," Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education explained. "It's going to be hard. There isn't going to be one right answer. But it would feel better if, just like we have a science table, we had an education table."
Parents like Elena Machado say they're focusing on just getting through the first few days back in the classroom.
"I'm happy they are going back," Machado said. "Of course I do have concerns as do most parents I think, but mostly happy for them."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince Charles and Camilla kick off three-day Canadian tour in St. John's today
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are in Newfoundland and Labrador's capital today to begin a three-day Canadian tour focused on Indigenous reconciliation and climate change.

Average price of gas in Canada tops $2 a litre for first time
Gasoline prices are showing no signs of letting up as the average price in Canada tops $2 a litre for the first time. Natural Resources Canada says the average price across the country for regular gasoline hit $2.06 per litre on Monday for an all-time high.
Top 6 moments from the 2022 Ontario election debate
Ontario’s four main party leaders were relatively civil as they spared at Monday night’s televised election debate in Toronto.
Attacking schools, Russia deals a blow to Ukraine's future
The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled more than 1,000 schools, destroying 95. Intentionally attacking schools and other civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Experts say wide-scale wreckage can be used as evidence of Russian intent, and to refute claims that schools were simply collateral damage.
Tim Hortons and Justin Bieber set to launch Biebs Brew
A match made in marketing heaven between Tim Hortons and Justin Bieber is back with a new French vanilla-flavoured chilled coffee. Biebs Brew is the pop star's rendition of the coffee chain's cold brew coffee launched last year.
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre denounces 'white replacement theory'
Pierre Poilievre is denouncing the 'white replacement theory' believed to be a motive for a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., as 'ugly and disgusting hate-mongering.'
Rising cost of living worries Canadians, defines Ontario election
The rising cost of living is worrying Canadians and defining the Ontario election as prices go up on everything from groceries to gas.
Online diary: Buffalo gunman plotted attack for months
The white gunman accused of massacring 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket wrote as far back as November about staging a livestreamed attack on African Americans, practiced shooting from his car and travelled hours from his home in March to scout out the store, according to detailed diary entries he appears to have posted online.
Man killed in California church shooting called a hero
A gunman motivated by hatred against Taiwan chained shut the doors of a California church and hid firebombs before shooting at a gathering of mostly elderly Taiwanese parishioners, killing a man who tackled him, authorities said.