Okanagan Skaha school board announces back-to-school plan
OSpecial to The Herald
kanagan Skaha schools will begin re-opening Sept. 10 and be fully open and in session Sept. 14, six days after the traditional beginning of classes. Following weeks of preparation and final approval from the education ministry, the school district released its re-opening plan Wednesday.
The objectives of the plan are to get students back into class and to do it safely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individual schools will now being communicating with parents regarding the specifics of each school’s re-opening.
Administration, teachers and support staff will spend Sept. 8 and 9 becoming familiar with the restart plans. And on Sept. 10 and 11, students will gradually re-enter their schools with orientation from staff around the safety practices being implemented in the schools.
A letter from superintendent Todd Manuel was emailed to all parents in the district on Wednesday, briefly outlining the re-start plan and directing them to the district website — sd67.bc.ca — for additional detail.
A key element of the plan is assigning students and staff in “learning groups” or “cohorts,” based on grade level and, in the case of high schoolers, electives and specific grad programs.
Cohorts in elementary and middle schools — Grades K-9 — will include a maximum of 60 students and teachers and will be grade specific.
Students in these grades will attend school full time. Timetables are arranged so that students in one cohort will have no need during the school day to interact with other cohorts.
At the secondary level, cohorts may be as large as 120 students and teachers. For the most part, students and teachers will have little contact outside their cohorts. However, some mixing will be inevitable, because of electives, and will be done with appropriate distancing protocols in effect.
Students in Grades 10 to 12 will attend classes at a 75-per-cent rate, every morning and every second afternoon.
The re-opening plan includes measures to limit contact between students from different cohorts, including:
• Cohorts in elementary and middle schools will be assigned time and play area space for recess and lunchtime. Depending on school size, this may include staggered times for lunch;
• For elementary and middle schools, common areas like washrooms and play areas will be assigned schedules;
• At the secondary level, students will have specific time and spaces for lunch breaks; and
• Secondary schools will see some common areas closed and washrooms designated to specific cohorts. Students will be assigned spaces to congregate with their cohort.
As for masks, the district has purchased two reusable masks for every middle and secondary student and teacher. According to the plan, protocols for wearing masks will be shared with parents and students during the two orientation days — Sept. 10 and 11.
One area where mask wearing could be mandated is on the bus. Buses will be loaded according to distancing guidelines, but if there are too many students to accommodate distancing, students in Grades 6-12 will be required to wear masks.
According to the plan released Wednesday, any confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or students will bring in Interior Health officials, who will do the appropriate testing and contact tracing. “The district will take direction from the health authority regarding operations and communications.”
During the spring partial re-opening, the district offered a hybrid system, in which students could study on-line with the regular teachers. This hybrid option is not available this time. However, access to the district’s ConnectEd on-line learning option remains an option.
A section of the re-opening plan says: “Alternatives to in-class learning — parents can speak with their school principal if they are interested in choosing an alternative model to in-class learning. This option involves transferring to our online school and out of the students’ current school. Online learning and home-schooling options are available; however, may affect future options to re-enroll as an in-class student at the student’s regular school at a later date.”
The one key responsibility of parents noted in the plan is for them to do a daily health check of their children to make sure they aren’t displaying any of the common symptoms of COVID-19 infection.
If they show any symptoms, parents should keep them at home and seek advice from a health care professional.
Among other precautions the district will invoke are:
• Students at all levels are asked to social distance when arriving and departing their schools and to leave immediately after school and avoid congregating;
• Fresh air ventilation rates will be increased in all schools to allow in more outdoor air and reduce recirculation;
• School teaching teams will monitor and respond to changes in students’ behaviours, knowing that some students may experience trauma as a result of the pandemic;
• Extra staff will be hired to ensure the more rigorous cleaning and disinfecting requirements during the pandemic; and
• Bus drivers will be provided face masks, face shields and hand sanitizer. Buses will be cleaned and disinfected twice a day, after the morning and afternoon runs.