Parents and students are anxiously waiting for the news on how schools, from kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary, will begin to open again amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The B.C. government has now outlined plans on how to do this safely, providing the virus transmission rate remains low or is in decline.
Students in K to 12 education will be returning to school in September, with only a partial return this school year.
Students in post-secondary education will be returning to school in September with a mix of online and in-class learning.
On Wednesday, B.C. Premier John Horgan said classes will fully resume in September.
“We want to make sure we can get kids safely back into classrooms,” Horgan said. “It’s not just about reading, writing and arithmetic.
Horgan said the province is not anticipating any increase to in-class teaching until after the May long weekend.
More details are expected to come on schools reopening sometime next week or after the long weekend.
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Guidelines for schools from K to 12 will now include routine daily screening for all staff and students.
There will have to be routine and frequent environmental cleaning within all schools.
Smaller class sizes will be required with increased space between desks, alternating attendance arrangements, frequent hand washing, wearing non-medical masks for group activities and sports and limiting group sizes.
Children and staff who have symptoms of a cold, flu or COVID-19, with any coughing or sneezing present, will not be allowed to come to school or take part in extra-curricular activities or sports.
Plans will be made over the summer for increased use of remote online learning, especially for high school children.
There will also be a policy of early arrival and self-isolation for 14 days for all international students.
In a tweet from the BC Teachers’ Federation following the announcement, the organization said the key takeaways include the fact there is no date for major reopening, and it won’t be this spring. There will be a slow, voluntary expansion and details are still being worked out.
The union is encouraging patience and maintain safety is a top priority.
For those in post-secondary institutions, there will also be routine daily screening for all staff and students, according to the province’s guidelines.
There will have to be routine and frequent environmental cleaning.
Students and staff who have symptoms of a cold, flu or COVID-19, with any coughing or sneezing present, will not be allowed to attend classes, extracurricular activities, sports or work.
There will need to be an increased use of online learning, balanced against the need of social interaction.
There will also be a policy of early arrival and self-isolation for 14 days for all international students.
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