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back to school plans

Education steering committee tasked with preparing fall 2020 back to school for K-12

Jun 25, 2020 | 1:08 PM

VICTORIA—B.C.’s Minister of Education has appointed a committee to help shape the future of education as B.C. prepares for the potential increase of students in schools for the fall of 2020.

The month of June saw the return to school for nearly 200,000 students across the province, which provided the Province and its newly appointed education steering committee essential information to prepare for the 2020-21 school year.

“What we’ve learned from this successful June school restart will be invaluable in planning to have even more students in class in September, if it is safe to do so.”—Rob Fleming, Minister of Education

The committee is made up of teachers, parents, First Nations, support staff, principals and vice-principals, school boards and trustees, and the public health sector.

The group is being tasked with reviewing lessons learned from March to June, identify any existing and potential issues and propose solutions, and develop and support parent and teacher resources.

“Throughout the summer and into September, boards will work closely with the Ministry of Education to ensure as many students as possible will benefit from in-class instruction with strict health and safety guidelines in place in the upcoming school year.”—Stephanie Higginson, President, BC School Trustees Association

B.C. saw the voluntary return to school begin on June 1. Kindergarten to Grade Five students had the option to return half-time while those from Grades 6-12 had the option to head back to school for the equivalent of one day a week.

The Province says the goal is to have even more students return to in-class learning at the start of the fall semester—as long as it is safe to do so.