Education Officials Looking at ‘Next Phase’ if School Year is Once Again Postponed
Written by Paul Graif on 12 April 2020
The May 4 target for reopening schools in the province is fast approaching and education officials in Kahnawake are looking at ‘all scenarios’ for what the future may hold.
“We’re anticipating what the next phase would look like if the school year was once again going to continue to be closed after May,” said director of the Kahnawake Education Center (KEC), Robin Delaronde, in a community address on Sunday.
“What would education look like? What would we be doing? What would our educators be doing? How would we be planning for the onset of the new school year?” said Delaronde.
At present, some schools in the community like the Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) are using online learning tools. KSS has seen a 90 percent success rate with students accessing online learning platforms, according to Delaronde.
Progress reports and year-end marks for students in elementary and high school is one key area the centre is planning for.
“I know that many parents—and we as well—are concerned about the type of progress and year-end remarks students will get,“ said Delaronde. She said the centre is keeping in touch with the province and that decisions about student reports will be coming ‘shortly.’
On Friday, Quebec’s premier Francois Legault announced schools and daycares across the province could reopen before the May 4 target—a move that sparked pushback from parents and teachers. A petition calling for closures until September has acquired more than 175 thousand signatures.
Delaronde said more information about future plans will be made available to the community in the coming weeks, noting that health and safety is top priority. “Whatever decisions we make have to be guided by health and safety, of what we’re seeing here in Kahnawake and in the province,” said Delaronde. “We want to make sure any return to our schools is for the safety of all. “
