School halls across the island are empty. Playgrounds, quiet. It’s spring break, schools are supposed to look like this.
But come Monday, they’ll stay this way.
“We aren’t going to be moving into this swiftly. There’s no expectation that Monday, morning everything will be ready and be prepared,” said Shelley Green, Superintendent of the Greater Victoria School District.
After two weeks of spring break, teachers across the province will head back to work.
First official business? Learning how to teach in a pandemic.
“We are truly hoping that we can navigate getting our staff through and materials home and our students through and materials home, in the next two weeks,” said Green.
Across B.C., for the next two weeks, educators will work to shift things online.
But how learning will be delivered, will be up to each district.
“Even in a normal time, education looks different in every region of B.C.,” said Education Minister Rob Fleming.
“Local school districts know their families and kids best, and therefore the leadership we’re seeing at districts is critically important.”
That means things will vary – school to school, even student to student. And teachers will also learn new ways of teaching.
“It will be a curve for teachers as well,” said Lovely Sidhu, who owns School House Teaching Supplies in Victoria.
“They will need to adapt to an online way of teaching and connecting with families.”
At this store, they’re already seeing an uptick in parents looking to bridge the gap in education their kids may face.
“We want to know what teachers will be recommending to parents so we have the appropriate resource for parents,” said Sidhu.
For now, the best source for information is your individual district’s website. The province is also working on launching a website with resources keeplearning.ca.
Kori Sidaway
