Relief, concern over schools
Boards awaiting more details on plan to resume classes in fall
Regina’s school divisions say the provincial government’s plan for students to return to the classroom in September comes as a relief but tempered by concern for safety.
Barring a spike in COVID -19 cases, Education Minister Gordon Wyant said the government has every intention of seeing kids back in school this fall.
Bob Kowalchuk, board chair for the Regina Catholic School Division, said this news comes as a relief to teachers, parents and students alike. He said it has been hard on teachers not having their students in the classroom and hard for parents learning to teach their kids at home.
Still, sending students back to the classroom comes with challenges.
“I think the biggest challenge we’re going to have to address is there’s going to be some parents who are still going to struggle with the idea of their children going back to school,” said Kowalchuk.
“People, they’re looking over their shoulders and they’re concerned about making sure that there is going to be safety.”
Kowalchuk said it will be up to the provincial guidelines around the return to schools to put parents at ease. Those guidelines are expected to be released sometime next week and, until then, Kowalchuk said schools won’t have a solid idea of what September could look like.
“I am hopeful that (the guidelines) are going to be workable, and that we’re going to have a controlled return to schools,” he said.
In an emailed statement, Regina Public Schools said while it is nice to know the province’s hopes for the fall, much is still unknown at this point.
“We have been planning in anticipation of Government direction and this does provide us more focus and a timeline for that planning. However, that planning will be completely reliant on the guidelines that will be shared,” the statement said.
For parents who are particularly nervous or for students who are immunocompromised, Wyant said the province is looking at offering some kind of alternative learning method. Both of Regina’s school divisions said they would follow the provincial government’s lead on what online learning services will still be needed.