After families were allowed to decide on their students' learning mode for the remaining term, Rocky View Schools (RVS) saw those choosing between the classroom and online learning for elementary and middles schools remain static in number.
Superintendent Greg Luterbach provided an update on learning modes at the RVS Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 21. According to his presentation, RVS has approximately 17,000 students across Grade 1 to 8/9, and families had the opportunity to decide between Jan. 11 and 15 which learning mode they wanted for their children for the remainder of the year. Their choice will remain in place from Feb. 8 to the end of June.
Of the families asked to indicate a learning preference using an intention form, about half of families responded, Luterbach said. Those who did not respond will stay in their current learning mode.
The vast majority of families – more than 90 per cent – that RVS heard from requested to stay in their current learning mode. The remaining 10 per cent looking for a change accounted for about 750 students.
Luterbach said for the first half of the school year, about 2,250 students in grades 1 to 9 learned online, and this number will stay about the same for the second half of the year.
RVS had 371 online students ask to move to in-person learning, while 377 who were learning in-person asked to move online.
The division saw a move of about 250 high-school students shift to online learning, jumping from around 750 in the fall to approximately 1,000 in the winter.
RVS will hire a few more teachers for face-to-face learning using money from the $9.3 million Federal Return to School grant received in October 2020.
Luterbach said the time table has been built for high-school students, who were required to decide their learning mode for the winter term back in December.
“We have all the pieces ready to go for the high-school switch-over on Feb. 1,” Luterbach said. “We appreciate all the different efforts being made by schools and education centre staff to pull this off and be able to support this choice for families.”
He added the response has been similar from teachers with some looking to move online, while others are hoping to return to the classroom.
“It’s been on all sides of the issue,” Luterbach said. “We have not run into a real situation whereby we haven’t been able to fit any of these spots. We’re proud of our staff and how they’ve stepped up.”
Luterbach noted Alberta Health Services and Alberta Education will decide if a school will be closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak. However, the division can advocate for action.
“We have a voice in it, but it’s not our call,” he said. “There needs to be a conversation and consultation.”
Ward 3 Trustee Jim Forrest said people have appreciated the ability to make the change between in-person and online learning. For RVS to do this is a testimony to the hard work of all people involved in education, he added.
“I’m very impressed we’re managing to make this work and we’re managing to do a lot of good in these difficult times,” Forrest said.
