Regina Catholic Schools moves back to remote learning model

A spokesperson for Regina Catholic Schools (RCS) says the decision to move all its students temporarily to remote learning as COVID-19 cases surge in the city and province was not made easily.

“This was an agonizing decision,” Twylla West, RCS communications and media co-ordinator, said Tuesday.

The change to Level 4 will take effect on Monday, Dec. 14, and continue to Jan. 11, with time off for the December break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1.

“We are seeing a significant rise in fear and anxiety of catching COVID when you're at school,” said West, adding that it has affected student attendance as many parents opt to keep their kids at home.

The decision, made by the RCS board of trustees late Monday night, affects all pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 students and follows an identical announcement by Regina Public Schools earlier that day.

RCS says the move was prompted by increased transmission rates, fear and anxiety around the virus that has resulted in decreased student attendance, substitute teacher availability, concerns around contacting families with directions to isolate, and alignment with Public Health directives.

“This won't look the same as it did in the spring,” said West.

Unlike the supplemental learning provided during the provincewide lockdown in the spring, mandatory curricular content will be delivered remotely to students.

“This is not an extension of Christmas break,” adds the RCS statement, urging all students to attend school each day this week so they are prepared for remote learning next week.

West emphasized that teachers have been preparing to pivot to teaching from home since the semester started. Teachers have ensured students are familiar with the online platforms used. Paper options will be a part of learning to cut down on screen time and allow for flexibility.

The school district plans to work with families of students in specialized programming, which may include remaining at Level 2 (faceto-face with masks) or moving to Level 3 (hybrid of face-to-face and remote learning).

School staff will work with families to determine attendance for those students.

As for child care, West said it's an issue that weighs heavily on the trustees and staff within RCS.

“We are not asking people to do something that is easy, and we know that,” said West, who said RCS is trying to work with parents right now.

West said during the spring, RCS was aware not every family has a device or data to access remote learning. She said for the next two weeks, RCS will offer the ability to loan devices to families that need them and work to help supply data as well.

Following Monday's announcement by Regina Public Schools, Education Minister Dustin Duncan defended the province's plans around COVID-19 and schools. “It allows flexibility,” he said. Education critic Carla Beck blamed the government for putting school divisions in this situation. “What I'm hearing is just a general level of burnout and inability to continue with in-person schooling.”

Beck added the pandemic worsened an already poor situation.

“This was a system where people were already telling us that they were at the end of their rope, doing too much with too little.”

Pressed on why the government allowed school divisions to get to such a state, Duncan said extra resources were made available due to the pandemic, allowing for more classroom and distance learning teachers.

He said health officials also planned to remind schools that teachers are not automatically considered a close contact of an infected student if the teacher was wearing a mask and a face shield.