As hundreds of thousands of children are getting ready to head back to school, some will soon be able to start in a different way.
Quebec’s Education Ministry recently gave the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) the green light to launch the Quebec Virtual Academy — a full-time online school.
“The interesting part is that it is not only for students with medical conditions, but students who are in Sport-études or an elite athlete who live too far from a Sport-études school or for children who live in rural areas where they’re far from any school,” said EMSB spokesperson Mike Cohen.
The online school will be accessible to students across the province, from kindergarten through to Grade 11, who have English eligibility.
Though the program will be available to students with a medical condition, those who live with someone who is immunocompromised will not be able to enrol.
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Registration should be open by the end of the week through the EMSB’s website, with school expected to begin by mid- to late September.
“School will not start immediately,” said Cohen. “So if someone is in a school right now, they need to stay in that school and they will be transferred. If it’s an EMSB school, it will be an easy transfer, but if it’s another school board, we will arrange for an inter-board agreement.”
Montreal father and founder of Covid Ecoles Quebec Olivier Drouin says he welcomes the initiative and says it’s a crucial solution for those who are vulnerable.
“Having a broader access to remote learning is I think what a lot of people have been advocating for for the last two years,” he said. “Because it’s a choice to protect your children versus the lack of measures that are being introduced in schools for this possible eighth wave.”
Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents’ Committee, says many are happy to hear about the new online model — but she’s concerned that with just a week before school is set to begin, there’s still a lot that hasn’t been ironed out.
“There’s still not information out yet as to what the school is going to look like, when it’s going to be rolled out, what a day will look like, what kind of software they will use, etc.,” she said. “So there’s still a lot of questions.”
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