Parents will have to wait a few more weeks to find out what school will look like this fall in British Columbia.
Education Minister Rob Fleming said on Wednesday that the province will provide details in “three weeks,” but that the plan could change quickly as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“I would say this to parents: There is a lot of planning going on with every major stakeholder in the education system to have a safe, full restart to the school system and parents should plan accordingly. We will see kids, K-to-7 certainly, back to school in September,” Fleming said.
The Opposition BC Liberals raised the issue in Question Period on Wednesday, with education critic Dan Davies saying parents and students have been patient and managed to get through a most confusing school year, and now they’re getting anxious for answers.
“They want and expect the government to have a plan in place for this fall, sooner than later,” Davies said. “The premier said that June was a trial run, and that they learned from that. Now parents are looking for direction.”
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More than 200,000 K-to-12 kids, or about 30 per cent of all students in B.C., went back to class in early June as part of the optional, part-time return to in-class instruction.
Despite the NDP’s aim for a full, mandatory return for those grades, the steering committee tasked with working out the transition is also looking at a hybrid model of in-person and online teaching.
There is no decision yet on how many days a week elementary students will attend, nor on how staff will ensure physical-distancing.
For parents worried about child care if some degree of online instruction continues in the fall, Fleming said 85 per cent of child-care providers in B.C. are now operating.
“Parents who have children in elementary school, for example, and younger siblings that have been in child care or who are currently in child care to contact their providers and secure those spaces and plan what the new normal will look like in September,” he said.
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