After a year of making hard sacrifices, students and families in Ottawa deserve to know that their government is working to safely return students to classrooms.
Staff in our public schools have worked tirelessly to keep our kids safe and to keep them engaged in learning, but the strain of doing so is considerable.
Staff, students and families are exhausted, and in need of further support. A third pandemic wave has arrived with a profound mental health crisis among teenagers, and we must take action.
We need to offer Ottawa families hope that we can return to a learning environment that helps staff and students be their fullest selves.
We can do this by ensuring school boards in Ottawa have the resources they need to create smaller, safer classrooms that have decent staff ratios, well-functioning infrastructure, COVID health and safety measures, proper supports for students with disabilities, and more.
Read my letter to the Minister of Education here.