No concrete plans for Saskatchewan school divisions to continue remote learning after Easter break

With Easter break around the corner and COVID-19 cases still on the rise in southern Saskatchewan, no official decisions have been made yet if school closures will be extended beyond this week.

Regina public and Catholic school divisions, along with Prairie Valley School Division, are currently taking part in remote learning.

Prairie South School Division announced on March 26 that all Moose Jaw schools and Caronport Elementary School would move to remote learning on March 29 due to concerns surrounding COVID-19 variants rising in the region.

While no divisions have concrete plans yet to extend remote learning, Prairie Valley School Division said they were looking into the possibility.

The division hopes to announce their plans by Thursday, after consulting with public health and board officials.

Regina public and Catholic school boards said they still plan to resume in-person learning on the 12th , but both are working closely with public health for guidance.

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“The announced resumption of in-school classes is scheduled for after the Spring Break on April 12th. However, as always, we work very closely with Public Health and actively seek out their guidance and recommendations when it comes to keeping our students, staff and school families safe. This is especially true as the spread of COVID-19 Variants of Concern continues to increase in the Regina area,” Terry Lazarou, spokesperson for Regina public school told Global Regina.

Regina Catholic schools spokesperson, Twylla West, said currently the school division does plan to return to in-person learning on April 12.

“I will add that we continue to meet with local health officials and know that things could change at any time. Should there be any changes, we will communicate them with our staff and families as quickly as possible,” West said.

Holy Trinity Catholic School Division director of education Sean Chase said the plan is still for students to return to in-person classes on April 12.

“We’re committed to regular conversations with the local Moose Jaw public health officials to monitor the situation. We intend to continue that work through next week and communicate to our families, if necessary, to change or alter that plan for sure,” Chase said.

Chase added the board doesn’t believe changes will be made, but the “situation changes rapidly.”

The vast majority of families have understood the rationale for moving to remote learning, and are supportive of proactive measures in place, Chase explained.