SD52 releases School Restart Plan along with results of survey which indicate near 50/50 split for parents on plans to return students to school

SD52 has released the return to school plan for Prince Rupert,
Port Edward and Hartley Bay students and parents/guardians

SD52 has outlined how the BC Education Restart Plan will operate in the Prince Rupert School District, releasing a wide ranging document on Friday that lays out the process ahead for students, staff and educators as schools prepare to re-open on June 1st.

The focus of the Restart follows four guiding principles

Ensure a healthy and safe environment for all students, families and employees 

Provide the services needed to support children of our essential service workers 

Support vulnerable students who may need special assistance 

Provide continuity of educational opportunities for all students

The document provides a detailed look at the established protocols for accessing sites and minimizing risk, among some of the notes:

All sites will have a clear screening process where staff and students are asked if they are sick o External thermometer will be available at all sites if required to detect a fever o Sites will have processes for staff or students leaving if sick o Sites will need locations for students who are unable to return home.

SD52 and schools will communicate with families the importance of students not attending if sick o Families should also let schools know if child is suffering from allergies, to minimize misunderstanding

Sites should not have visitors or volunteers, but if they do, it should be by appointment, Itinerant staff will visit and provide regular service and will adhere to specific site protocols

Sites will have clearly designated staff and student wash areas

Students will bring limited materials to school (backpack, water bottle, etc.) and should not share any materials o Parents should not send students with food that needs to be prepared or heated o Students will access water from the bottle re-fill fountains only.

 PPE, as indicated by the Health Authority, are the least effective strategy in a non-medical setting, are not required, but will be available for First Aid attendants if needed. Other employees desiring to wear PPE may bring their own.

Other elements of the return to school protocols include cleaning and hygiene, measures for physical distancing and when it's not possible for such, what to do in the event of illness and the need for ongoing communication.

As they prepare for the rollout of the return, SD 52 notes of the Provincial procedures in place:

The Government of BC has established that schools in BC must be, at a minimum, offering the following direct service levels by June 1:

K-5 – Part-time 4 days per week on a rotations schedule
6-12 – 1 day per week ESW and priority learners up to 5 days per week as needed.

The Ministry has set school “density “limits of 50% for the K-5 and 20% for 6-12, though districts and regions can propose some variance provided any delivery beyond these requirements must be within guidelines established by the Health Authority.

For SD52 the roll out for rural schools of Port Edward and Hartley Bay will be as follows:

Port Edward currently has seven students and will deliver to all students four days per week with online available one day a week.

Hartley Bay’s 35 students will access staggered in-class instruction four day per week with online available one day per week.

Metlakatla students will not be travelling across the harbour to attend school until further notice and instead will continue on with the online process currently underway.

The School District has also released the results of their Return to School Survey Question asking what Parents/Guardians intend to do on June 1st.

Overall SD52 received 402 responses, indicating a very close split between those planning to send their children to school and those keeping them at home:

202 have said they would send their child to school (51%)
193 have said they would not send their child to school (49%)
6 skipped this question

By elementary School the results were as follows:

Roosevelt: 

We have received 155 responses. 
78 have said they would send their child to school (52%) 
47 have said they would not send their child to school (44%) 
4 skipped this question 

Lax Kxeen: 

We have received 91 responses. 
57 have said they would send their child to school (64%) 
32 have said they would not send their child to school (36%) 
2 skipped this question 

Conrad: 

We have received 67 responses. 
22 have said they would send their child to school (33%) 
45 have said they would not send their child to school (67%)
0 skipped this question 

Pineridge: 

We have received 54 responses. 
38 have said they would send their child to school (49%) 
39 have said they would not send their child to school (51%) 
1 skipped this question

You can review the full SD52 Restart document here.

In addition to that overview, the School District has also provided its Exposure Control plan for COVID-19, that 26 page document provides details on Risk Control and Precautionary measures to be put in place.

It covers a range of topics from risk assessment to Education, Training and resource materials available for staff and administrators.

 You can review that item here.

For more notes on Education in the Northwest see our archive page here.