Kelowna, Kamloops school districts provide update on return-to-school plans

Kelowna and Kamloops school districts are preparing for a full return to classroom instruction come September.

At School District No. 73, the district is installing touchless water faucets in all schools and is adding, with just over $1 million from the province, 17 more custodians, according to a SD No. 73 news release. These are only some measures the district being taken to ensure the safety of staff and students, according to the release.

The province is providing $45.6 million to the school district to enhance safety measures, said board chair Rhonda Kershaw, in the press release.

READ MORE: A look at how provinces are planning for start of school year during pandemic

While the Central Okanagan school district didn’t directly outline the new plan for the school year, a message from board chair Moyra Baxter said the district is currently working on a local back to school plan which is expected to be posted online by Aug. 26.

Both school districts highlighted some key points from the return-to-school provincial plan including that students will return to classrooms in cohorts of 60 for Grades K-8 and groups of 120 for Grades 9-12

Elementary will be in their regular class for the vast majority of the day, while middle and high school student's classes will be scheduled to ensure they’re taken with their cohorts.

Physical distancing and/or masks will be required for any classes that occur outside of a student's cohort.

The ministry is providing increased funding for additional cleaning supplies, staff and reusable masks that will be available for staff and older students.

Buses will operate with revised safety guidelines and masks will be mandatory for middle and high school students.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.