Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 23, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 B93>" B*"$% @>3>/> ,6$,3/& > %,>*$4 5>2,A $0D $0 (/05 !# ./0"-$ .,3/" .0"*$ "3*(03/*"23/5,- 10(-")(3*,- /%/0) &20 /+$"('(4(3* 03 $%, %030!* 0+ %"& 3>/">3& 1%0&,3 $0 *,1,"D, ?$%,* *,1".",3$& 8,*, +*05 C*',3$"3>7 C!&$*>A">7 B*>2"A7 @%"A,7 ;*>31,7 :,*5>347 )&*>,A7 )$>A47 =>3>5>7 (3"$,/ #"3'/05 >3/ (-C D,, * $%, +" &* $ COVID-19 PANDEMIC ASSOCIATE EDITOR NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ? CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A3 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 23, 2020 F AMILIES in some Winnipeg school districts are more likely to choose remote learning for their children than others, data obtained by the Free Press show - with a staggering 16 per- centage point difference between opt-in rates in Louis Riel and River East Transcona. A breakdown of elementary and middle school remote-learner data within metro divisions, which only two districts (Louis Riel and Seven Oaks) provided upon request, show even starker differences between buildings. At Elwick Community School, where K-8 stu- dents learn in a residential neighbourhood sand- wiched between Inkster Industrial Park, Mynar- ski and Garden City, 33 per cent of students are doing remote learning. A 15-minute drive northeast to another K-8 in- stitution in Seven Oaks, West St. Paul School is providing the option to less than one per cent of its student population. Educators, administrators and parents provid- ed numerous considerations that have driven the important decisions families have been forced to make about their children's' education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's about trust in the system. It's about trust in the science. With myself and my wife. we know that the schools are a safe place to be. We know our kids are healthy there," said Greg McFarlane, chairman of the Seven Oaks board. McFarlane sent his two children to learn in the division this fall; citing limited community trans- mission in schools, he said he was confident about the decision. The overwhelming majority of families have also kept students enrolled in public school this fall - but many have been given a choice to pivot. When schools entered the restricted (code or- ange) level on Manitoba's pandemic response sys- tem, divisions started to offer universal remote learning for interested families with elementary- and middle-years students. To gauge uptake amid the second wave, the Free Press sought out early December distance- learning statistics from Winnipeg, River East Transcona, Pembina Trails, Louis Riel, Seven Oaks, and St. James-Assiniboia school divisions. Three weeks ago, divisions were asked to col- lect and provide the total number of K-8 students enrolled in temporary remote learning in each of their early and middle years schools. The data collected does not include students learning at home for 2020-21 because of medical exemptions. Winnipeg, River East Transcona, Pembina Trails and St. James-Assiniboia responded with incomplete data, only offering division-wide opt- in rates for their unique temporary programs. Overall, Louis Riel had the lowest opt-in rate of all K-8 student populations in English metro div- isions, with six per cent of learners choosing to study at home. That figure is 22 per cent in River East Transcona. Approximately 10 per cent of pu- pils who were offered remote learning in Seven Oaks, St. James-Assiniboia and Winnipeg chose it. Notably, only half of WSD's 64 K-8 schools made available remote learning this fall, because the rest of its schools could make room for two metres of physical distancing. Other schools, in- cluding all those in LRSD since before Labour Day, have made room for two metres, but still of- fered a temporary remote program. Pembina Trails provided data only for its K-6 population, of which 17 per cent is doing distance learning. Christian Michalik, superintendent at Louis Riel, eventually wants to survey all families that have opted in to the division's home option to pin- point exactly what factors came into play. Drawing on anecdotal evidence from talking to parents, Michalik said: "Worry, concern, anxiety relative to the pandemic is an important factor that ebbs and flows." "The other important factor is parents have to have the wherewithal to actually have a child home, because you do have to have an ability to have an adult (present) - in the case of children under the age of 12." In Louis Riel, the buildings with the highest opt- in rates include Marion School (19 per cent), Vic- tor H.L. Wyatt School (16 per cent), and Lavallee School (13 per cent). Among those with the lowest remote-learner percentages are Windsor School (0.6 per cent), �cole Julie-Riel (two per cent), and �cole Guyot (three per cent). It's difficult to draw any "absolute conclusions" because there are so many contributing factors, said Louise Johnston, chairwoman of the LRSD board. For instance, Johnston said, Marion School has a significant Indigenous student population and many of its pupils live in multi-generational dwellings, so learning decisions may require con- sultation with elders or grandparents. While noting Marion, Victor H.L. Wyatt and Lavallee are all schools where there are concerns of inequity, Michalik said he doesn't believe socio- economic factors are driving remote opt-ins in his division. Sage Creek School, a significantly higher-in- come suburb in comparison, has a relatively high opt-in rate at 11 per cent. O'Leary, however, draws the firm conclusion that wealth - which relates to occupation, under- lying health factors, and a family's trust in sys- tems - is a contributing factor in Seven Oaks. Only three of 466 students at West St. Paul chose temporary at-home learning this fall, in compari- son to 133 of the 402 pupils enrolled at Elwick. For Winnipeg mother Nichole Elvebo, the deci- sion to put her Grade 4 son in virtual school in Sage Creek was made, in part, because her family has "pandemic privilege - no question." Elvebo and her husband work remotely, they have reliable internet access, and their house has lots of room for everyone to study, play and sleep. Elvebo said her family had a positive experience with e-learning in the springtime and so, when given the opportunity again, they took it. "We all were concerned about the risk factors of COVID and the long-term effects, which we're still learning a lot more about," she said, adding they want to hold out for the vaccine. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca From zero to 33 School remote-learning rates depend on geography, socioeconomic factors, more MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Espen and Nichole Elvebo and their children, Alex and Anne, enjoy their outdoor rink in Sage Creek Tuesday. Elvebo says her family had a positive experience with e-learning in the spring and decided to sign up again. 6 10 10 10 17 21.7 33 per cent of students at Elwick Community School opted for remote learning. Amber Trails and Constable Finney, in the Seven Oaks school district, also reported above average opt-in rates. Louis Riel Seven Oaks St. James Assiniboia Winnipeg Pembina Trails River East Transcona 0 25 50 75 100% Percentage of students opting-in for remote learning Opt-in rates for Winnipeg's six english school divisions WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SOURCE: WINNIPEG SCHOOL BOARDS pt-in rates for Winnipeg's six English school divisions A_03_Dec-23-20_FP_01.indd A3 2020-12-22 10:21 PM ;