The Province is providing a range of supports for remote learning for school districts, teachers and parents.

School districts

• Extended the authority to all school boards to offer online programs to students within their districts.
• Gave districts the ability to expand their local distributed learning programs to include additional grades and services to students and district schools to meet local needs.
• Provided a provincial learning management system (MOODLE) for districts to support online learning. 
• Upgraded internet access to all schools in the province through the K-12 Next Generation Network.
• Provided a provincial licence for Zoom for all schools as a secure platform for real-time videoconferencing.

Parents and caregivers

• Provided $3 million through the Safe Return to Schools Grant to loan technology to students (such as tablets or laptops) to support their educational program.
• Enhanced the Keep Learning Website with additional resources for parents. This is a central place where families can find ideas for everyday educational activities, links to free learning resources, as well as how to help children learn and how to ensure their well-being while they are at home: https://www.openschool.bc.ca/keeplearning/
• Worked with telecom and internet service providers  to ensure families and school districts were provided with information about access to internet assistance and connectivity programs (such as Internet for Good).

Teachers

• Created an online repository of over 2,000 curated learning resources for use by teachers and staff to support the new curriculum, suitable for use online or in class. 
• Provided funding  for teachers to develop additional resources for this fall, through a partnership with the not-for-profit organization FocusED.
• Worked with the Western Canadian Learning Network, a school district consortium, to provide a full set of course resources for grades 4-12 for teachers using MOODLE.
• Funded a provincial site licence for Zoom to ensure a common, consistent platform to communicate and share lessons with their students.
• Provided a new self-paced course with strategies for incorporating remote and in-person learning in the classroom.
• Launched a webinar series hosted by experts to support teachers throughout the province about changing their teaching or learning environments. The first webinar, Building Compassionate Communities in the Classroom, is scheduled for Sept. 9.

Homebound program

• During a regular school year, districts also accommodate students that cannot attend in-class instruction through the long-standing B.C. Homebound Program. This enables students to continue their education program if they are absent from school for periods during the school year because of medical reasons, such as injury, illness, surgery, pregnancy, or mental health reasons.

While all school districts are following the same strict health and safety guidelines to keep students and staff safe, B.C. is a diverse province and each school district has created back-to-school plans based on the needs of their communities.

Large school district example: SD 36 (Surrey)

Most school districts can accommodate all students in the classroom every day. However, there are some urban secondary schools with larger student populations in cities like Surrey where this will not be possible.

• To minimize contacts between learning groups, Surrey is accommodating grade 10-12 students every day in the morning and one day a week in the afternoon, while students in K-9 will have full-time access to the classroom. In Surrey’s plan, every secondary student will be in attendance every day.
• Children with special needs, those who require additional supports and children and youth in care will have priority access to technology, in-class instruction and additional supports.
• To reduce contact between learning groups, the district is staggering arrival and departure times for some of its larger schools, with different pick-up and drop-off times and/or locations for families depending on their learning groups.
• The district is also staggering the times students enter the school, as well as breaks and lunches, to minimize the numbers of people passing each other in the halls. The district will never have more than 60% of students sharing a lunch period and two times per week no more than 40% of a school will be on lunch. 
• Surrey secondary schools are moving to a quarterly semester system, which means students have two courses every 10 weeks, minimizing the amount of time they need to change classes and keeping the size of learning groups small. The learning group size for grades 8 and 9 is 60 students. For grades 10 to 12, it is 30 students.
• Surrey has an Aboriginal Education Council, with representatives from the local Katzie and Semiahmoo First Nations, BC Métis Nation, Fraser Valley Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association, Kekinow Housing, Surrey Principals and Vice Principals’ Association, Surrey Teachers’ Association and Aboriginal parents that meets to provide leadership on the education. The superintendent has also met with representatives of the local Katzie and Semiahmoo First Nations about Surrey’s restart plan.  
• First Nations students will be accommodated for remote learning, when requested.
• Surrey also has a distributed (online) learning option, which includes a blend of remote classes and in-person instruction for grades K-7, and more than 70 online courses, including project-based learning, for grades 8-12.

Mid-sized school district example: SD 63 (Saanich)

• The majority of students in Saanich will have access to full-time, in-class learning. All secondary schools will have in-class learning, with many also offering some blended learning (a mix of remote and in-class) to ensure that learning group sizes can be maintained.
• To maximize the number of students who have in-class learning, secondary schools in Saanich are moving to a quarterly semester system, with students having two courses every 10 weeks.
• Elementary and middle schools will have staggered recess and lunch times. Secondary schools will have rescheduled term start and end times.
• School staff will connect with families of students who require extra support to ensure they better understand what to expect this school year.
• On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, Indigenous school staff will connect with each family to determine their individual needs. The district will work collaboratively with Indigenous rightsholders to create a flexible plan that allows Indigenous students full access to education, whether remote or in-class, with support for technology when needed.  
• The district has purchased two new buses and a van that will be fully operational on Sept. 8. These buses will serve local First Nations communities and ensure that all students who have requested transportation services will receive them in a timely and convenient manner.

Smaller school district example: SD 48 (Sea-to-Sky)  

• The majority of students in Sea-to-Sky will be accommodated for full-time, in-class learning, with the exception of some secondary school electives which will be offered as remote learning classes.
• To maximize the number of students who have in-class learning, secondary schools in Sea-to-Sky are moving to a quarterly semester system, with students having two courses every ten weeks.
• To reduce contact between learning groups, the district is staggering arrival and departure times for some of its larger schools, with different pick-up and drop-off location for families depending on their learning groups.
• Some larger schools will also have staggered class schedules, with students remaining in their learning group through recess, lunch and break times.   
• The district is expanding its distributed (online) learning program and it has developed a remote learning alternative for K-9 students who want to stay connected to their community school. 
• Any student who needs to self-isolate or quarantine will be supported with the resources (personnel, digital, and otherwise) they need to continue learning with their peers remotely.
• To support students who require additional support in school, SD 48 offers students a My Action Plan program, ensuring students are actively involved in their learning plan and in finding services that meet their needs.
• Those with special needs or anyone who requires extra support at school will have full-time access to in-person classes. Children and youth in care will have priority access to technology, child care, in-class instruction and additional supports.
• The district has had extensive consultation with local First Nations, including N’quatqua, Lil’wat, Samahquam and Squamish Nation. First Nations students will be accommodated for remote learning when requested.
• Staff will be provided with digital professional development and training, in case a school needs to switch stages because of an increased risk of transmission.