Coronavirus: Parents in Surrey, B.C., demand remote learning options come September

With little more than two weeks before B.C. students return to the classroom, the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council has written to the education minister demanding more at-home learning options for families who aren’t comfortable sending their kids back to school under COVID-19.

0:40 Survey finds majority of Surrey parents reluctant to send kids back to school

The letter comes after the council, which represents parents in the province’s largest school district, conducted a recent survey of 3,500 families and sent the results to Global News on Tuesday.

More than half of respondents said they’re sending their kids back reluctantly because they feel it’s their only choice.

Just 19 per cent of parents were happy with current back-to-school plans.

2:15 B.C. makes masks mandatory in school common areas

The survey also found that a hybrid model of remote and in-class learning was the most popular choice among parents, who preferred it to only in-class instruction or only virtual sessions.

In a letter to Education Minister Rob Fleming, the parents’ group urged him to create a hybrid model similar to one being implemented in Calgary that will “allow students to remain enrolled in their current school while they attend online learning… and once safe to do so, transfer back to in-class instruction.”

The letter also called for mandatory mask use in classrooms, labs and libraries wherever physical distancing is not possible.

Last week, the B.C. government said school staff, middle school students and secondary students will be required to wear masks in high-traffic areas, such as hallways, or anytime they are outside of their learning group where physical-distancing cannot be maintained.

But kids and staff would not be required to wear them in the classroom with their learning group.

Exceptions will be made for students who cannot wear a mask for a medical reason, the province said.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents in the survey felt masks should be mandatory.

2:01 Face masks now mandatory in B.C. schools

The letter concludes by saying the Fraser Health region has seen more COVID-19 cases than any other region in the province, and now is not the time for area schools to be operating at full capacity.

Global News reached out to Fleming, who was unavailable to comment Tuesday.

— With files from Amy Judd