School to return for most

For most students in the province, it will be back to the classroom come September.

However, Education Minister Rob Fleming and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stated during a news conference Wednesday, schools will look a lot different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While details of the plan were sketchy, Dr. Henry indicated she believes the plan to return to class is "robust," and puts the health and safety of students, teachers and staff at the top of the priority list.

"A key aspect of a full return to school are cohorts, or what we're calling learning groups that will be created for every school across the province. The principle behind these learning groups is to create groups of students and staff who will remain together throughout the school year or term, and who primarily interact only with each other," said Henry.

"By creating these learning groups, students and staff within each group will be able to safely spend time together, maintaining distances as much as possible throughout the school year. While they may not be in the same classroom, learning groups will be able to connect with each other during breaks, in common areas and places like the playground, the gym or the library."

Learning groups will be restricted to a maximum of 60 students and staff at the elementary and middle school level and 120 in high schools.

"Learning groups are smaller in the elementary and middle schools because it is more challenging for younger students to maintain that safe, physical distance," she said.

As we know from the data, younger children are much less likely to get infected by COVID-19, or to pass it on to others."

In addition to the new learning groups, Henry said other changes students and staff will notice in September center around cleaning, the movement of people around schools, social interaction and how those can be done safely in a school environment.

Fleming also admitted it may not be possible for all students to return to the classroom on a full-time basis, especially those in larger high schools.

Citing high schools with populations between 1,500 and 2,000, including some in Kelowna and the Okanagan, Fleming says it may not be possible for people to stay within their groups while also physically distancing.

"For these schools, districts are looking at a variety of options to maximize in-class learning for their students, and in some cases they may need to offer a hybrid approach that we became familiar with for their students with a blend of remote online and self-directed learning," said Fleming.

Each district in the province will prepare a specific plan for their local district.

Fleming says districts must release that plan to parents no later than Aug. 26.