Central Okanagan students learned all about social distancing
Special to The Daily Courier
Thursday marked the last day of school for Central Okanagan students – and it’s been a year like none other.
The COVID-19 pandemic meant most students were not able to return to class after spring break, shifting instead to remote learning.
“We had to restructure the whole way the district was operating in a way we have never imagined before,” said School District 23 superintendent Kevin Kaardal.
“We know now absolutely the value of the social nature of learning.”
The superintendent told trustees during the school board’s final meeting of the school year this week about 12,000 students continued school online through Zoom meetings, Google Classroom and a handful of apps and online resources. The district loaned out
2,800 Chromebooks and iPads to students.
In June, some semblance of normalcy did return to schools, with a voluntary partial return to the classroom. Even playgrounds were able to open.
“People said it’s very difficult to get kids not to touch each other and those things, but our staff spent a lot time working with students as soon as they came in around protocols,” said Kaardal. “That didn’t happen without a lot of teaching and education.”
About 43% of the students in the district – about 9,000 – returned for classes in June. Financially, there were savings for the school district due to the pandemic.
However, that’s expected to be a wash. “Currently, we are planning for the additional costs that are going to be incurred related to the additional safety requirements of the COVID pandemic,” said the board’s Secretary-Treasurer, Ryan Stierman.
Next school year, there will be additional cleaning costs to keep students and staff safe.
“Although it seems like we benefitted financially from this, that is only for this year. We are expecting by the end of next year to have broken even related to the pandemic,” he said.
Schools are scheduled re-open for the first day of class on Tuesday, Sept. 8.