B.C. premier says for now school will start as planned this fall, despite parent, teacher concerns

B.C. Premier John Horgan says the plan remains for students, teachers and staff to start the school year “as normal” in September, despite concerns from teachers and parents amid the COVID-19 crisis.

But the door is open to pushing back the start of school beyond September 8, the current scheduled start date.

Speaking at a press conference in Surrey on Thursday about a new cancer centre, Horgan also fielded questions about concerns around classes resuming next month.

“We need to be more flexible than ever before,” he said.

“I know that this is the biggest challenge that the education community has ever had in a hundred years. We have not had to experience going back to school in September during a global pandemic. I know there’s anxiety within the workforce, within the parent community, and even with some children. Of course, this is a very stressful time,” Horgan said.

Both the B.C. Teachers Federation and the B.C. Principals and Vice-Principals Association is in support of pushing back the start of school if it allows for better safety and more time to prepare for the new year.

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There is a working group currently addressing some of the concerns raised by parents, teachers and staff over the last week.

When asked about those concerns Horgan said “we need to work through this together.”

On the advice of the provincial health officer, students will be organized into a consistent group of staff and students, to be called learning groups, in a bid to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and ensure quicker contact-tracing if needed.

Parents are worried about a lack of physical distancing as well as no requirement to wear masks.

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“Our education system involves hundreds of thousands of people, and we need to find a way for all of that to happen in a safe manner, and that’s what we are focused on,” Horgan said.

“The vast majority of people want to make sure we get this right. and if it takes a few more days so be it. But, today, we are focused on starting the school year as we have planned, making sure that we have provisions in place to protect workers, to protect children, and to make sure that we get a safe a start as possible.”

The province has committed $45.6 million to help support school districts implement additional safety measures, such as increased cleaning of high-contact surfaces and more hand-washing stations.