The following is a list of tips and reminders for member health and safety as we adjust to the TDSB’s COVID-19 protocols and the new realities in our classrooms.
- Screening and COVID-19 Symptoms
- Fresh Air is Important
- PPE, Masks, and Hand Washing
- Report Insufficient Physical Distancing in Your Classroom
- Cleaning Desks
- COVID-19 Numbers in Schools and Daycares
For our comprehensive COVID-19 FAQs please refer to the ETT COVID-19 portal. (Login Required)
Please remember to document any health and safety concerns you may have by completing a TDSB Health and Safety Concern and Near Miss Incident Form.
ETT Health and Safety Coordinator
Terri Lynn Platt
1) Screening and COVID-19 Symptoms
Teachers do not perform medical procedures on students upon entry to school.
While Teachers may be assigned to supervise students by the Principal, ETT has taken the position that it is not appropriate for Teachers to be assigned to COVID-19 screening stations.
Section L – D.2.2 of the Collective Agreement prevents any Teacher from being required to conduct medical procedures or to examine or diagnose pupils for communicable diseases.
If assigned to a screening station, please inform your Principal that this constitutes a breach of the Collective Agreement and contact your ETT Executive Officer for support.
Personal devices should not be used for COVID-19 screening purposes.
Should a student in your class show any COVID-19 symptoms, inform the office and have them sent directly to your school’s Isolation/Wellness Room.
Do not retain ill students inside the classroom.
2) Fresh Air is Important
Teach outdoors as much as possible in order to breathe fresh air.
Keep classroom windows and doors open as much as possible to allow fresh air to enter the classroom. Be sure to have warm clothing on hand so that windows can continue to stay open once the weather cools.
For your own health and safety and wellbeing, try to go outside as much as possible during recess and lunch for fresh air. Go for a walk around the block and get in a few steps.
3) PPE, Masks, and Hand Washing
Please remember to wear your PPE at all times! Do not remove your mask indoors!
Try to have your students eat their lunch outdoors as much as possible. When your students are eating inside, please remember to keep your mask on (do not remove your mask and eat lunch with your students).
Don’t forget to wash your hands as often as possible.
4) Report Insufficient Physical Distancing in Your Classroom
If students do not have two metres of space between them in your class, measure the distance and complete a TDSB Health and Safety Concern and Near Miss Incident Form.
ETT collates data from each and every health and safety form submitted, which we then use to highlight the scope and scale of issues that arise. So, please ensure that you complete the a health and safety form as your reporting helps members across the Board.
5) Cleaning Desks
It is not the responsibility of ETT members to clean desks. This is the work of CUPE 4400 members and we do not perform the work of other bargaining units.
Caretaking staff will clean students’ desks two times per day. Once between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and again at end of the day.
6) COVID-19 Numbers in Schools and Daycares
The Ontario government provides a daily listing online of all of the Ontario schools and daycares with positive COVID-19 cases.
This information is also available as an interactive map produced by the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) & Lawson Health Research Institute at McMaster University.
