Students from kindergarten to Grade 12 will be back in B.C. schools on a part-time basis starting June 1st.
The return of classroom instruction for the final month of the school year, after more than two months of home schooling due to the pandemic, is optional and will be left up to the discretion of parents or guardians whether to allow their children to go back to class.
The relaunch of in-class learning for students from kindergarten to Grade 5 will attend classes half-time, likely two or three days per week. Class times, lunch breaks/recess and student arrival/departure times will be staggered so at no time will any school be at any more than 50 per cent capacity.
For students in Grades 6-12, schools will be at 20 per cent capacity for the month of June and most students will likely attend just one day per week.
School buses will be equipped with plastic shields to protect the drivers and no more than one student can sit on each seat unless they are from the same household.
Each school will have strict protocols in place to encourage hand-washing and social distancing and students and school staff will be assessed daily for COVID-19 symptoms. Anyone showing any symptoms must stay home.
Education Minister Rob Fleming announced the changes Friday morning at a news conference in Victoria. The education ministry forecasts a return to full-time classes in September, as long as the outbreak remains on the decline. Fleming said parents will be informed of in-class schedules by next Friday.
“To do things safely we’ll need to limit the number of students in schools so we can manage physical distance and physical contact between students,” said Fleming. “Districts will be reviewing their available spaces in schools and will adjust things like hallway flow and they will look at the reducing the number of kids congregating in common areas and there will be a regular rigourous cleaning schedule for high-contact surfaces, things like doorknobs, keyboards, washrooms and desks at least twice a day, while school buildings will have a deep cleaning at least daily.”
Currently there are 5,000 B.C. students whose parents are essential workers or who are in need extra support who are already in school buildings full-time on week days. The increased access to schools reflects new health and safety guidelines issued by the provincial health office and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Remote learning will continue for students for the rest of the school year, aided by the province’s Keep Learning website, which is updated regularly with suggestions for device-free activities. But as Fleming admitted, there’s no substitute for face-to-face instruction and social interactions between students.
“School is a place where kids learn to connect with others, it’s a place where they grow as people and not having those place to learn and grow has been especially hard for children who need extra support or for kids who find that school is their safe haven in their lives,” Fleming said.
“This won’t be back to the way school life was before the pandemic. There will be strict health and safety standards in place and schools will look significantly different than before the pandemic. Students, educators and staff should feel confident, knowing we’re taking every precaution to put their health and safety first.”
Fleming assured all Grade 12 students who have met the requirements for graduation will receive their diplomas and will be able to move on to postsecondary studies.
“We made the assurance way back in March 17, when we initially announced the direction we were taking on suspending in-class instruction that kids weren’t going to be penalized simply for being thrown into a pandemic,” said Fleming.
“We have worked with postsecondary leaders to make sure that allowances around transcripts is done without disruption and that there be a generous consideration for everybody that wishes to complete school and move on to then next phase of their life. Teachers and support staff have been working incredibly hard, and some of them are specialist teachers like career and guidance counselors who have had to work remotely or over the phone using video technology to keep track of their students to ensure they get the help they need.”
Premier John Horgan said the plan to return to class this school year is not mandatory and students, parents and educators can choose not to participate in classroom activities this spring.
“It’s our genuine desire to make sure that no one feels pressure to do this,” Horgan said. “I understand that parents or children are anxious about going back to classes and I want to assure you that we would not be making these announcements today if we felt there was an undue risk to the well-being of youngsters that are going into the schools or the adults, the teachers and support staff we so much depend on for the care of our children throughout the day.
“These steps will pave the way for a full start in September.”
With class sizes divided in half, Fleming said teachers will keep students separated with wider spacing between desks and schools will likely take advantage of the warmer weather to have some classes outdoors while also utilizing gymnasium and library spaces.
Education ministry staff have been closely monitoring schools systems in Denmark and New Zealand, which have had in-class instruction for the past month, and Quebec, which started this week, and have used those models to prepare the plan for resumption of classes in B.C.
Horgan promised further lifting of restrictions on B.C. businesses to be announced next week.
“Since the pandemic began here in British Columbia, we’ve all been working hard based on the guidance and direction from public health officers and Dr. Bonnie Henry and her team and our collective efforts have seen us flatten the curve to the point where we’re prepared to take the next steps as we restart our economy,” said Horgan.
“After the May long weekend which is upon us, we’ll be introducing Phase 2 of our restart plan… to see businesses and people get back to work and the province get back to what will be the new normal as we go forward. I want to reiterate that this is not a flick of switch, this is a gradual increase in activity and we’ll do that in a manner that will keep everyone safe. The plan will be gradual and based on scientific recommendations for Dr. Henry and her team.”
During the pandemic, which prompted the closure of B.C. schools on March 17 while students were just beginning a two-week spring break, more than 2,600 child-care centres have remained open in the province. They provide care for children of essential workers and the services they provide will allow more parents to return to their jobs as businesses gradually reopen, said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care.
“Today, thanks to public health, we are releasing new updated guidelines to ensure child care can continue, as they have been, to operate safely,” said Chen. “Just like schools, child-care centres will need to take additional precautions to maintain health and safety, which could include washing hands as frequently as possible, make sure we break up activities between children when they’re indoor and also encouraging more outdoor activities especially when the summer time comes.
“Child care is not mandated to reopen. It is really up to child-care providers to reopen or to return to their more regular capacity, depending on what is best for their operations following the guidelines of our public health.”
Chen said wage subsidies which cover up to 75 per cent of operating costs are allowing care centres to remain viable as businesses and the province will continue to offer emergency funding to cover fixed costs of centres now temporarily closed due to the pandemic.
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