Manitoba students will be heading back to class in September.
In a tweet Monday Kelvin Goertzen said classes will start Sept. 8 — the normal start time for the school year — and just shy of week after teachers and school staff return to get things ready.
Classroom learning was shut down on March 23 due to COVID-19, although remote learning and some small-group in-class tutoring continued.
“As expected, the experience with at home learning has been difficult for many,” said Goertzen in string of tweets Monday.
“While there will be a need for supplemental learning opportunities for many students in the next school year, the desire was that it be accommodated within the school year.”
Goertzen said teachers and staff will return to school Sept. 2 “to provide time to prepare spaces, inform staff about health protocols, and engage collaboratively on recovery learning approaches.”
Goertzen said the government’s decision to reopen schools follows public feedback on the province’s plan to reopen services during the pandemic.
“Thank you to parents, teachers and students that gave feedback on the recent back to school survey,” he tweeted.
“We listened to your feedback and it was clear that teachers and administration value time to prepare and collaborate prior to the resumption of school in the fall.”
Goertzen said more information on the province’s plan to reopen schools will be announced soon.
“In the interest of planning for families and schools however we wanted to provide this information today,” he said in a tweet.
On June 1 the province allowed some students to head back to school for one-on-one or small group sessions with their teachers as part of Phase 2 of Manitoba’s reopening plan.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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