Expect a formal announcement in two weeks, but B.C.’s Education Minister says it is his goal to see as many kids as possible back in classrooms ‘full-time’ in the fall.
Rob Fleming says everything is dependent on what happens with COVID-19, noting the main focus is keeping everyone safe in schools, noting there is no substitute for in-class work.
“The schools have been given the signal by our government that we’re moving ahead to as many kids in the school system as possible certainly 100 per cent for elementary and middle school kids and we’re working on the secondary plan as well and we’ll have more to say in about two weeks time,” Fleming said today, while announcing the construction of a new elementary school in Langford on Vancouver Island.
B.C.’s children went back in school on a voluntary basis in an attempt to resume in-class learning before the last school year ended. Most of the 550,000 public school students in B.C. were forced to transition to online learning in mid-March when schools were closed due to the pandemic.
“It’s very pleasing to see a number of districts looking at how they should arrange their bell schedules and semesters going forward and I think we’re seeing some interesting ideas about how to deliver senior secondary education for example in the best way possible,” Fleming added, noting that month long exercise gave B.C officials a chance to assess plans on how to reopen schools amid the pandemic.
Speaking on The Jeff Andreas Show at the end of June, Fleming noted the province is in a good place for a strong restart in September, despite two cases of teachers testing positive for COVID-19 in that month – one in an independent school and one in a public school, both in the Fraser Health region. He says the adults were likely infected in the community or through their family and brought it to the school and not the other way around.
Both Fleming and Premier John Horgan says the return to class plan could vary between school districts, as the government has received close to 12,000 surveys from parents regarding the reopening plan, with more expected before the July 24 submission deadline.
“It’s going to be different from Vancouver to Surrey to Sicamous and Saanich,”Horgan said.
Fleming will be announcing the plan alongside Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. Henry also previously noted that the hope is that schools can be back to normal for the 2020-21 school year.
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