Education restart plan underway for Kamloops school district

Photo: Pexels

SD73 discusses plans for school in September

The Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD73) is developing its plan to get students back to school come September, dubbed the Education Re-start Plan.

The goal is to create a plan for how schools are going to operate when students return to in-class instruction this fall with a heavy focus on health and safety measures put in place to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. 

“Monday, the senior team finalized the guidelines to support schools in the development and implementation of their re-start plans,” says Supt. Alison Sidow, in a press release. “Our principals and vice-principals returned from vacation yesterday and we have begun to finalize the plan in preparation for consultation with our partners.” 

This week, SD73 will formulate the plan with hopes to have it reviewed by the Board of Education on Aug. 19 and submitted to the Ministry of Education by Aug. 21.

On Aug. 26, the district will communicate the plan to parents, staff and the wider community.  

“We understand the anxiety faced by students, their families, as well as our staff as they wait for news of the final plan,” Sidow explains. “We know there are concerns and that’s why we have a process for taking questions. We are listening and addressing these concerns with as much detail as we can until we have a final plan approved by the Ministry of Education and health authority."

The district amped up its deep cleaning and safety protocols for the partial return to school in June, including adding 17 daytime custodians. These measures are being further expanded to meet the government’s new guidelines for September. 

The SD73 website has posted a Frequently Asked Questions board to its parents’ resources page. Concerns and questions can be emailed to [email protected].