Advertisement

​​Inquiries spike at Calgary homeschool programs following provincial back-to-school announcement

Click to play video: 'Inquiries spike at Calgary home-school programs following provincial back-to-school announcement'
Inquiries spike at Calgary home-school programs following provincial back-to-school announcement
WATCH ABOVE: The rising number of COVID-19 cases in Alberta is concerning some parents who are preparing to send their kids back to school in the fall. As Adam MacVicar reports, many are exploring homeschooling as an alternative option – Jul 23, 2020

As Calgary parents prepare to send their kids back to school for the fall semester, inquiries about homeschooling programs are on the rise.

On Tuesday, Alberta’s provincial government confirmed that students would resume in-person classes in the fall, with strict health measures in place amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, the Phoenix Foundation in Calgary has been inundated with calls from concerned parents looking for a spot for their child.

“Since the announcement, we actually stopped accepting phone calls,” the program’s founder Diana Stinn said. “[We’re asking] people to leave their name and number and we would get back to them in the order that the phone call was received because we just couldn’t keep up.”
Story continues below advertisement

With just over a month before the first bell of the school year, the Phoenix Foundation has reached its capacity.

The school has an enrolment between 250 and 300 students per year, and offers online, at-home and in-school learning with class sizes ranging between 10 and 12 students.

“Parents are definitely worried about putting students back into overcrowded, busy places,” Stinn said. “But by the same token, they want their children to have some interaction, some socialization; they’re worried about their mental health.”

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Stinn admits this year’s programming would look a little different due to rigorous cleaning protocols and health measures to help eliminate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“It allows for all those components to work together to have some social interaction, but to limit that in a controlled way,” she said.

The province ultimately chose Scenario 1 for when students return to class in September.

The scenario’s re-entry plan calls on schools to implement several health measures, including frequent cleaning of surfaces, placing hand sanitizers throughout the schools at entrances and classrooms, grouping students in cohorts and planning the school day to allow for physical distancing, which could include staggering start times for classes, recesses and lunches.

Story continues below advertisement

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said schools would be provided with detailed guidance on how to enhance physical distancing but there would not be a limit on class sizes.

The measures aren’t enough for Nancy Gallinger, who is considering enrolling her 10-year-old son in homeschooling programs for the upcoming year.

Gallinger noted the steadily increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Alberta in recent weeks; there are currently more than 1,300 active coronavirus cases across the province.

“If they would’ve announced this maybe a month or so ago, when the numbers were really low [and] in the twenties, I might’ve been OK with the potential, but Scenario 1 is not sitting well with either myself or my husband,” Gallinger told Global News on Thursday.

“The fact nothing is changing other than frequent handwashing and cohorting classes, but there’s no limits on class sizes, so how are they going to keep them safe?”

Both the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District confirmed to Global News on Thursday that they are working on online-learning programs for the school year, and that details would be released in the coming weeks.

As for Gallinger, her family’s decision on homeschooling hinges on the trend of infections.

Story continues below advertisement
“[We will] play it by ear over the next couple of weeks — the middle of August — but homeschool is definitely on the horizon,” she said.

Sponsored content

AdChoices