A Lord Kelvin Elementary parent wants to help teachers get ready for students when they finally get back into classroom.
Natalie Lawy, whose daughter is entering kindergarten this year, is matching volunteer parents with any local teachers who might want an extra hand to get their classrooms rolling.
"(Parents) feel like it's a feel-good way to help," said Lawy who had signed up more than 30 parents and about 12 teachers as of Monday.
The idea came out of a local mom group, she said. There are teachers in the group and they talked about being stressed out over getting their classrooms ready for students when the strike comes to an end, Lawy said.
"Usually in the summer they go in and spend a lot of time preparing and organizing and decorating and arranging - they're not going to have a chance to do that because everyone is going to try to open the schools really quickly as soon as the strike is lifted," she said.
Parents in the mom group liked that helping set up classrooms was a non-political way to show their support for teachers, Lawy said.
But the friendly gesture can't step on the toes of CUPE staff.
"It's greatly appreciated," superintendent John Gaiptman said. "The only caveat I put in there, and I phoned (CUPE Local 409 president) Marcel Marsolais about it, as we are going to be very clear it won't be replacing CUPE work.
"It's lovely that parents want to do that," he added. "It builds community. It really enforces that education is not just about teachers or support workers, it's about the entire community."
The parent volunteers may help arrange bookshelves, prepare handouts, do hole punching and binding, said Lawy, who expects the commitment will be minimal because the teachers won't have much time.
To sign up, visit newwestclasssetup.wordpress.com.
