On March 13, 2020, along with my colleagues, I attended the Manitoba School Board's Association Convention in Winnipeg. We casually discussed the implications of the growing severity of the COVID-19 virus and its implications on education in Manitoba.

That afternoon, the first announcement regarding public education closures and COVID-19 was announced at the Convention through a brief appearance by the Minister of Education. While closing schools, on such a scale, occurred in other jurisdictions before March 13, 2020, something like this had not happened here in my lifetime. As we attended the dinner that followed, there was a general uneasiness about the pandemic and how it would impact the families and children in our schools. 

Up to that point, we were focused on educational concerns, funding, governance, mental health, student achievement, safety in schools and other important matters.

We know and live through what followed – many changes, many disruptions and much uncertainty. We learned new techniques, resources, and procedures very rapidly. 

As our health care workers were called upon to support the multitude of patients impacted by this latter-day pestilence, education workers and parents were another groups who were needed to support the public education system. 

Much has happened since March 13, 2020. Home-based video learning, pivoting resources and staff, multiple school closures, and health measures inside schools to protect our students, educational workers, and their families.

I compare the burden that education carried in the pandemic was akin to the Z-Dike in the 1997 Great Flood of the Red River Valley. While the Floodway received the primary attention for protecting Winnipeg from floodwaters, the Z-Dike was the additional level of emergency protection that ensured that our city and its citizens could remain safe. The role in public education in Manitoba during the pandemic cannot be underestimated.

I can only begin to highlight the very rapid responses by our Division and School-based administrators who rapidly began to implement safety measures to protect students and staff. In many cases, our divisional standards exceeded public health guidelines. The innovations, the marshalling of resources and the sheer mental, emotional and physical labour required to keep education operations going and learning, required great flexibility. Working with parents and educators as each cataract or set of rapids came out of nowhere upon our Division, our educational family responded with professionalism and practicality. Many solutions, guided by common sense and compassion yet, constrained by resources or the need to accommodate as many learners and families as possible, were presented and implemented upon.

Being a witness to this local history, I cannot begin to thank but also document the enormous sacrifices made by students, parents, guardians, teaching staff, cleaning staff, educators and all other employees of our Division. The deep cleanings, the logistics and the human relations with those impacted all required grit, critical and creative thinking, yet humanity and compassion. We thank you. 

This two-year-long storm continued with ebbs and flows, keeping time with public health needs and mandates. Our good ship, the St. James Assiniboia School Division and its families, students and staff worked continually to maintain the best quality of education despite barriers created in combating the pandemic. While nothing is perfect, and even the best ship spring leaks and gets waves going over its deck, I am proud of our division leaders, school leaders, educators, support staff, families, parents, guardians and students. I am proud of how our Division deployed computerized tools to our students to ensure that all students could, when required, learn at home. I am proud of how our Division and senior leadership developed and contributed to mental health initiatives to assist our staff and students. While these measures were never enough to meet the overwhelming needs of so many, we needed to try and provide what could be possible under these challenging and unpredicted emergent conditions. 

With trepidations and a wariness built up by two years of very rough times, there is hope that this could be the end of our collective nightmare. Coming out of the malaise of the COVID-19 era is parallel to coming out of a war. There will be much to do to rebuild, restore, then enhance. We need to continue to focus on improving the quality of education and educational outcomes, showing compassion, living citizenship and reconstructing a face-to-face unrestricted learning community.

While a desire to return to the 'status quo ante bellum' - the way it was before COVID-19, we cannot forget the new tools, opportunities, and ways to improve that have been developed from necessity. There is an equilibrium that needs to be reset gradually as we return to the 'old normal.' Like meat and potatoes being improved by different cooking techniques and herbs and spices, so can the fundamentals of the way we deliver education to students be improved in a reasonable, sustainable and student-focused manner. There will be much work still to be done, and these new tools may prove useful. We are not restricted to using only Kipling's "worn-out tools." 

After two years of this unwanted tempest, there is general fatigue, demoralization and a strong desire for this to be in the past. The Manitoba Museum reported that few artifacts from the Spanish Flu pestilence were saved or even recorded. Perhaps this was part of a collective subconscious desire to forget and return to their lives a century ago. In addition, we are seeing the impact on all of our educational families through challenges to mental health, limited financial resources, and morale. 

And yet we must remember to thank everyone who worked incredibly hard and through long hours, sacrificing personal time and energy to get us through this two-year ordeal. 

Thank you to students, parents and guardians. You are the reason we have fought so hard and so long.

Thank you to our custodial staff, maintenance workers, drivers, support, and administrative staff. 

Thank you to our teaching staff, educational assistants, teaching specialists, and teachers.

Thank you to our school-based leaders and our divisional leaders. 

The day will come when this will be over, and we can breathe again that sigh of relief and the metaphoric sun will come out again.

In, hopefully, these last weeks of our mutual experience through a mass pestilence, please be patient with each other. We can be angry at the situation. We can be frustrated, disappointed and demoralized over yet another hurdle, another setback, another cause of individual misery. These feelings are normal, natural and not unreasonable. However, we must fight to be kind to others, even those who are unfortunate enough to be seen as that hurdle or barrier. Then, with empathy, patience and taking a deep breath before we react, we can respond to others to try to develop and find solutions to the problem. It is not a combat between two people. Instead, two people need to develop collaborative approaches to find the best possible solution to any challenge. We are all hurting in one way or another. Finding that solution with other exhausted, demoralized and worn down other people takes strength and courage. It is far preferable to fighting fire with fire and being left with ashes. 

In short, please be kind to each other. The sun will come out, hopefully, tomorrow. 

-Craig Johnson 

 Trustee, Centre Ward