As expected, School District 71 has released its restart plans for classes in the fall on its website.
Individual schools have posted their school-specific plans on school sites as well to cover many of the details around having students return to classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Aug. 20, senior staff and school trustees held a virtual meeting to discuss the plans for September, including the posting of the plans on district sites on Aug. 26.
“Our plan was developed following direction from the Ministry of Education and the guidelines developed by the Provincial Health Officer in close consultation with Island Health Authority and our educational partners,” superintendent Tom Demeo writes in the introduction to the plan.
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The 10-page document is broken into a number of sections. It starts by citing some principles around how cohorts or learning groups will work for elementary students, then discusses how the block system will work for secondary students, including time tables for the morning and the afternoon block. The plan also covers orientations for the first week back to class.
Part of the plan refers to provisions for students with diverse abilities or disabilities. As well, there is a section on how the district plans to support Indigenous students.
The document concludes with links to specific health and safety protocols, an FAQ page and a COVID-19 resource guide for families in the Comox Valley.
Demeo acknowledges that some parents might not be comfortable sending their children back into classrooms this fall.
“We would ask that if families are considering an alternative option to face to face learning, that they please connect with their current school principal to discuss their specific concerns. Families that choose an alternative delivery model and then decide to return their child to school may do so in consultation with the school principal at any point in the year,” he says.
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To see the district plan, go to https://www.comoxvalleyschools.ca/, or to see an individual school plan, check the school webpage through the district site.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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