CedarBridge Closure Due To Staff Absences
[Updated] “The Ministry of Education has been forced to announce the closure of CedarBridge Academy due to an unusually high number of teacher and para-educator absences,” the government said this morning [Oct 30].
A Government spokesperson said, “As of 6:23 a.m., 59 of CedarBridge’s 77 staff members had reported absent. The majority of these are uncertified sick leave absences, alongside two approved absences and one absence for a staff member attending to a sick child.
“While students have been provided assignments and can access additional materials on Google Classroom, the school’s administration is conducting checks to ensure assignments are posted and accessible to minimise any disruption to student learning during this time.
“The CBA Board Chair and Principal have been holding bi-weekly meetings with representatives from the Bermuda Union of Teachers [BUT] to address the CBA Educators’ concerns and implement agreed-upon solutions.
“The next meeting was scheduled for today at 4:00 p.m., as confirmed by CedarBridge Principal Caesar with BUT CBA Representative Mr. John Virgil. We are unaware of any unresolved issues that would have prompted today’s action, and no concerns have been raised with the principal regarding tonight’s scheduled Back to School night for parents. We have reached out to the Union executive for clarification.
“In line with the provisions of our Collective Bargaining Agreement, we will be enforcing the policies related to uncertified sick leave and are committed to continuing open communication to address any further concerns raised by the union. The Ministry remains focused on providing a supportive and effective working environment for our educators and maintaining consistent, high-quality education for our students.”
Update 9.21pm: A government spokesperson said, “We understand and share parents’ concerns regarding today’s unfortunate action by teachers and this has been communicated to the Bermuda Union of Teachers [BUT].
“Our hope and expectation is that instruction will resume tomorrow as normal, and we can renew the focus on delivering a first-rate education for students. We apologise for the inconvenience caused today and will promptly update parents of any issues that may arise impacting school tomorrow.”
Next the Bermuda Police Service will be “forced to announce the closure” of Hamilton Police Station due to an unusually high number of police officer absences!
I recall from one of my contacts that an unusually high percentage of BPS employees were out this year due to testing positive for covid. I guess that gives a new meaning to the blue flu. There might have been a story where a “spokesperson” mentioned being short-staffed for that reason.
“59 of CedarBridge’s 77 staff members had reported absent.” Can anyone calculate the statistical odds of 76.6% of employees missing work on the same day? Methinks the game is afoot.
Just remember, BUT does not represent the children. I think students should unionize and fight back for a better education.
This is unbelievable!
Good luck. Most unfortunate to see such action. The teachers talked about poor leadership at the top. For the sake of bda I hope it can be resolved.