Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Education Minister Rob Fleming (Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC)

By Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Parents deserve a better back-to-school plan

Aug 14, 2020 | 1:20 PM

ACCORDING TO A RECENT POLL, only 49 per cent of parents in British Columbia are in support of the NDP’s back to school plan for September. This means that just over half of the parents surveyed have at least some reservations about the framework that has been laid out by the government and how it will affect their children and families.

There is no question that it has been a challenging year and this has been particularly true for families, where routines have changed so dramatically. On top of the stress and change of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have also had to take a much more active role in their children’s education and kids have had to adjust to being away from their social circles and familiar classrooms.

After so much change and disruption, it is time for the government to give parents, students and teachers the assurance and clarity needed for a confident return to school. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Each update and announcement from Education Minister Rob Fleming about the NDP’s back-to-school plan has only brought greater confusion.

Instead of putting together a solid and consistent plan, the minister has placed the majority of the responsibility around preparing for the coming year on B.C.’s 60 individual school districts, leaving them on their own to figure out how to adapt to the health guidelines from the province. Leaving so many decisions up to the school districts means that the NDP is also failing to support families who need, but might not be offered, alternative learning options for their children.

Parents are worried that the government will not provide needed distance-learning supports and resources for at-risk children, as the NDP already slashed funding to Independent Distributed Learning programs by $12 million this July.

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When the government first announced their plan for the school year at the end of July, it received widespread criticism. Even the BC Teachers’ Federation has expressed concerns about the need for greater safety precautions and the overall lack of clarity.

In this week’s announcement from the education minister, we heard that they are giving schools two more days to prepare, while also failing to answer even the most basic questions that parents have about the coming year — like how often and how long children will now be in class or whether hybrid learning options will be available. Based on the government’s own plan, it is unlikely that parents will have answers to these questions before August 26, only a week before school is scheduled to begin.

At the end of the day, this comes down to a lack of leadership from our government. From parents to students to the BC Teachers’ Federation, there is a considerable amount of hesitation, anxiety and frustration with the lack of clarity and planning from the NDP. At a time when we are seeing COVID-19 cases spike again in our province, it is hard to reconcile why the NDP is comfortable setting the guidelines they have, while also spending little effort to instil confidence in teachers and parents.

Education Minister Rob Fleming has had five months to come up with a plan but has repeatedly failed to deliver. It is time for a real, comprehensive and safe plan to get children back to school.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.