Dear editor,
In the fall of 2020, GP Vanier implemented “Flex Day” Wednesdays, giving students the option of staying home from school on these days.
In the 2021-22 school year, there are 14 flex days scheduled, in addition to Pro-D days and holidays. Flex day is considered an “instructional day” with school doors open. Students are encouraged to attend if they are: “behind on schoolwork, needing to re-do work or a test, not understanding their work, or if they would like enrichment.” Students can also stay home and do nothing, and do not have to account for how they spend their time. Collectively, flex days result in thousands of hours of lost instructional and social time for students.
Currently, in Grade 9, my son has little or no homework on flex days. He has admitted to me that he is bored on flex day and would rather attend school and his regular classes. As a work-at-home parent, I do not have time to provide my son with learning resources for this day.
GP Vanier is the only school in District 71 that has a flex day; why is this? Taxpayers are funding a school day that has only part of the student body in attendance. Students deserve to have five days of instruction per week, in an inclusive environment where everyone attends. GP Vanier needs to get on the same page as every other school in the district and restore a five-day school week.
Jocie Brooks,
Courtenay