Calgary Board of Education students can now register for online learning ​amid COVID-19 pandemic

Students enrolled in Calgary’s largest school board are now eligible to register for its Online Hub Learning program for the upcoming school year.

Registration for the program opened on Wednesday, as parents grapple with the decision whether or not to send their child back to in-person classes for the 2020-21 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know that families, in some cases, may be uncomfortable with a full return to in-person learning, or have other needs,” CBE superintendent of school improvement Joanne Pitman said on Wednesday.

According to CBE, the online learning approach has undergone changes to its model since the emergency online learning program was introduced in the spring, when in-person classes were cancelled due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.

Under the new format, students will remain registered at their home school but will be assigned to a hub class and a dedicated teacher or group of teachers depending on their course and grade level, and will learn through a mix of online classes and independent studies, CBE officials said.

“We’ll have daily regular routines connected to live instruction as well as pre-recorded video materials, along with and in addition to independent work requirements and timelines and deadlines related to those pieces,” Pitman said.

Registration for the program is not on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to Pitman, and there is no cap on how many students the program can accommodate.

“Based on the number of students and the schools from which they come, we will need to reassign existing teachers to move to then teach hub online for that portion,” Pitman said.

The school board received a high volume of registration requests on the first day of eligibility, and it is expecting that it will be a popular option for many students heading into the upcoming year, Pitman said.

Registration for the program is open until Aug. 24, and parents who have a child registered for online learning will have until Sept. 3 to decide whether to opt out for in-person learning instead.

The board will review whether it will move all students to online hub learning for February 2021 in December.

“I do think that the majority of schools are prepared for online learning come September than they were for the emergency home-schooling in the spring,” said Tanya Brown, an online tutor with T3 Tutoring YYC.

“(But) I think parents will have to be prepared to be flexible.”

Under the new online model, students will be required to meet all outcomes in the curriculum, which includes all core subjects like math, english language arts, social studies and sciences.

According to Brown, parents should get a grasp of what is expected for their child for the upcoming school year as parents are expected to be involved.

She also recommended parents set up a learning space in the home free of distractions, and introduce structure to the day.

“If you’re doing the hub, the student has to attend certain classes anyway online but also for the independent learning. Just like you have soccer practice Monday at 5 p.m., wellm you have your independent learning at this time,” Brown said.

“Children thrive on structure, and I think part of the big problem that happened in the spring is everybody’s life went upside down and the structures we had in place for ourselves, for our children just didn’t exist anymore.

Delaying the school year

On Wednesday, the B.C. government announced it would be pushing back the start of the school year by two days to allow for more time to orient students and staff on the new health and safety measures in place.

The decision was welcomed by Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling, who told Global News he’d like to see similar actions taken in Alberta to ensure the safety of students and staff.

“We still have concerns with the scenario that we’re going into school with: class sizes, cohorting, how we would do social distancing, how will the flow of school be once teachers and students come back,” Schilling said.

“I think it would be really important for Alberta Education to go to school boards and principals and say ‘do you need more time to make this work?’ And if they say yes, then afford them that time to ensure our safety.”

Alberta’s Ministry of Education said it could not comment on decisions being made by other provinces, but said that the province will continue to follow the advice of Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw regarding its school re-entry plan.

“At this point, the advice does not include delaying the start of the school year,” ministry spokesperson Colin Aitchison said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We will continue to work with Dr. Hinshaw and our education system, and will make adjustments as necessary.”

Meanwhile, Alberta’s NDP opposition would not comment on whether or not they think Alberta should follow its western neighbour and delay the start of the fall semester.

Instead, the opposition house leader is recommending the government get creative with its re-entry plan and set up classrooms in public buildings.

“What we think they should be doing is to be leaders and to work with our publicly funded buildings; we know post-secondary institutions are going to have space, because most students are going to be learning online, we have libraries, rec centres,” Opposition House Leader Heather Sweet said.

“There are publicly funded buildings that have space that we could be using, that the government should be using  to build classrooms to keep kids safe.”