KEC Will Supoprt 87 Students Who Attend Schools Outside Kahnawake

Robin Delaronde, the Director of Education at the Kahnawake Education Center said that they stand behind their decision to keep Kahnawake schools closed until the fall.

“I feel really good about our decision,” she said. “I feel confident in our decision not to open up our doors so that students can return to school.” Delaronde said the main reason they are not reopening, “is based on the medical information and what we get from the Task Force and also for the health and well being of our community. When we open our schools we will ensure that it is done to ensure the safety and well being of our employees, students and our families, and not to be rushed to make decisions that would not be in the best interests of our community.”

There are 87 elementary school students who are from Kahnawake who attend schools outside of the community. Delaronde said they will be calling each family to see how they can support you and see what your intentions are.

Even with the Fall opening, Delaronde says they must keep all of their options open. “We want to take this time to plan for our schools and educators for the possibilities that are coming,” she said. They are looking at the possibility of incorporating more on-line learning. Delaronde also said that Sub-committees have been formed in each school to look at what graduation will look like for this year.

Kateri Memorial Hospital Center Executive Director Lisa Westaway announced that three patients have passed away at the KMHC since the pandemic began, but none of them was from COVID-19. “My deepest condolences to those whose loved ones have passed,” she said. The deaths, Westaway said, were a normal part of the progression of disease. “This is a very difficult time because we are not able to grieve in the way that we normally would,” she said.

A team in Kahnawake is working on plans to reopen the economy and will present their findings to the Task Force on Friday. Meanwhile Quebec is pushing forward with plans to quickly open up businesses. That is worrisome for Kahnawake’s Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips.

“Quebec, we believe they are moving much too quickly and the science does not back them up,” Phillips said. “Once the economy opens up the numbers will rise. So you got to be careful on how fast you open. So you got to be very calculating on how you open because those numbers will spike.”