The Pembina Hills School Division will be delaying the start of the 2020-2021 school year by a single day and then staggering classes over the next two days.
On Aug. 21, Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange announced that while she would not be delaying the start of the school year until after Labour Day as requested by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), individual school boards had the flexibility to adjust their re-entry plans if necessary.
In response to this announcement and concerns expressed by local parents and staff, Pembina Hills trustees held a special meeting on Aug. 24 to discuss a possible delay to the school year.
Monday, Aug. 31 and Tuesday, Sept. 1 will continue to be used for professional development and to fine tune individual school re-entry plans.
However, trustees decided that students will not attend school on Wednesday, Sept. 2, which was supposed to be the first day of classes. Instead, that day will be used for staff to continue fine-tuning re-entry plans.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, students in Grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 will attend school while everyone else stays home.
Friday, Sept. 4 will then be the first day of classes for students in Grades 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
Schools with Kindergarten programs will be communicating with parents regarding unique plans for their students’ first day of school.
The purpose of staggering school re-entry is to allow teachers to focus on practicing the new rules and build students’ confidence and comfort with the return to school.
It was noted that Pembina Hills staff had conducted a short poll on Aug. 21 to gather feedback from parents regarding re-entry, and the results of that poll supported the board’s decision-making.
Board chair Jennifer Tuininga clarified in an e-mail that this was a nine-question poll sent out to parents/guardians, along with a voice call from Supt. Dave Garbutt.
“The communication was to encourage parents to read the school re-entry plans on the Pembina Hills website. It was also an opportunity to engage parents and hear some of their feedback and concerns,” she said.
Tuininga said normal operations will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 8, following the Labour Day long weekend.
It should be noted that the transportation department will be reaching out to families directly after today, Aug. 26, to review specific busing procedures.
School staff will also continue to refine school routines and offer communications as necessary.
