The B.C. government and school boards have begun to figure out how school will operate in September when more students return to class.
Education Minister Rob Fleming called the June school restart successful and said it will help to plan for September, if it’s safe to do so.
On June 1, all students in kindergarten to Grade 5 had the option to attend school half time, while students in Grades 6 through 12 had the option to attend school for the equivalent of one day a week.
The last day for in-class learning was Thursday.
To prepare for September, Fleming has appointed a steering committee with representatives from teachers, parents, First Nations, support staff, principals and vice-principals, school boards and trustees, and the public health sector to learn from best practices and find solutions to issues, according to a government news release Thursday.
The committee will review lessons learned from March to June, identify existing and potential issues and propose solutions, and develop and support parent and teacher resources, the government said.
Some of the safety measures already implemented include greater space between desks, minimal physical contact, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, cleaning of high-contact surfaces twice daily, and clear protocols for drop-offs and lunch and recess breaks, to name a few.
The province says the goal is to have more students in class in September, as long as it’s safe to do so based on the advice of Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer. The B.C. government says nearly 200,000 students went back to school in June.
The province reported Thursday that a second B.C. teacher had tested positive for COVID-19, but Henry said no students were exposed.
Henry said officials planned for positive cases in the school system and acted quickly when the two cases were identified in the past few weeks.
— With files from The Canadian Press
