Edmonton Public Schools Starts Rotating Online Learning

EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Instead of paying educational support staff a decent wage and settling a strike into its ninth week, Alberta schools are starting to impose rotating online learning.

At Edmonton Public Schools, some schools are sending students home once or twice per week. At Michael Strembitsky school, the entire 7^th and 8^th grades will alternate being sent home for a week.

CUPE Local 3550 has been on strike since January 13^th. In total, 6,600 educational support staff are on strike across Alberta for better education funding and livable wages. Alberta has the lowest funded education system in Canada. The average school support worker makes just $34,500, many went almost a decade without a meaningful wage increase.

CUPE 3550 President Mandy Lamoureux says at-home learning is bad for the students.

“We learned during the pandemic that students do better in classrooms,” said Lamoureux. “It’s amazing how far the government has to go to avoid giving support workers a real wage increase.”

“Rather than putting schools in chaos, rather than making life so hard for Alberta students, why won’t the government do the right thing, come to the bargaining table, and end the strike?”

:clc/cope 491