Burnaby parents are being asked to tell the school district by Sept. 1 whether or not they’ll be sending their kids to school during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The district will be sending out an electronic form by the end of the week for parents to indicate their decisions, according to a letter sent to parents Wednesday afternoon.
The form will include four options: return to school, online courses through Burnaby Online, homeschooling and – for parents of elementary school students – a short-term wait-and-see option.
“This option 'under consideration' is designed to be short term and to help students transition back to in-class instruction,” states the district’s website. “The date for transition has yet to be determined for this option. In order to further explore this option, we will need to know how many families and students may be interested.”
For students who are immunocompromised, have an underlying medical condition or are living with someone who does, there is also the option of at-home learning with online support from a district teacher.
That last option is an extension of the district’s pre-existing Out of School Support Program, that supports students who can’t physically attend school because of medical reasons.
Local schools will contact parents starting next week with details about schedules, gradual entry for health and safety orientations and other information, such as gradual entry for kindergarten, according to the letter.
Students will find out their assigned learning groups – groups mandated by the province to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to make contact tracing easier – during orientation week, which starts on Sept. 10.
The district’s back-to-school plans have been approved by the Ministry of Education, and summaries are now posted on the district’s website.
The full plans were presented at a public online briefing Wednesday.
For more information, visit tinyurl.com/SD41COVIDplans.
