"Kids are great," said School District 23 Superintendent Kevin Kaardal when asked about whether students will be able to follow the protocols that the return to school is relying on. "It's not really students that are the issue," he explained.
What does concern Kaardal is the recent surge in cases in the broader community. "We're hoping that this minor surge will sort of wake everybody up," he told KelownaNow on the eve of the return of classroom instruction.
When the bell rings tomorrow, he optimistically predicts as many as 98% of students will turn-up.
"That's what our current registrations show," Kaardal said. "We do have a remote learning option and just over 400 students have selected that option."
In School District 23, the plan is to keep the number of students in designated 'learning groups' to well below the maximums set by the province, which are 60 for elementary and middle schools and 120 for secondary schools.
When students get to school, middle and secondary students will be provided re-usable masks to be worn in common areas and at times when physical distancing is difficult. "The district has gone out and purchased over 32 thousand masks," said Kaardal.
As for a return to school sports, young athletes may be disappointed. "Right now, school sports in terms of inter-school sports are suspended," he confirmed, adding that some practicing may take place under strict conditions.
He believes students, in the controlled environment of a school, will do their part to live up to their responsibilities when it comes to those conditions and guidelines.
"That's not my worry," Kaardal explained. "It's really whether you have an infection come from the outside community and there seems to be some fatigue in the community, particularly in some populations and age groups where they're not respecting the directions from our public health officer."
If problems do emerge in schools, he said it will not be difficult to revert to the stages of closure that we've seen during the pandemic, but it's up to all of us to make sure it all works.
"It's society in general that has to really focus on taking the virus seriously," Kaardal said.
Students return to school, tomorrow, but the first few days are focused on getting oriented with their learning groups, before cracking the books.
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