Secondary schools in the Delta School District are figuring out their timetables for next year.
In 2020, COVID-19 safety protocols necessitated high schools to alter their timetables.
Last spring, the school district notified parents that, despite the easing of pandemic restrictions, the district would continue with a semester system for all seven public secondary schools for the 2022/23 school year.
At the time, it was noted that after reviewing feedback from parents, students and staff, the decision was made to not change back to a linear system.
Originally, five Delta public secondary schools followed a linear system and two followed a semester system.
All seven schools would shift first to a quarter system, then to a semester system to help navigate the challenges of the pandemic.
A letter to parents last week from Seaquam Secondary noted that now that COVID-19 has receded, all seven secondary schools in the Delta School District have been working through a decision-making process to determine each school’s timetables for the 2023/24 school year.
“Schools have been reviewing extensive feedback collected from students, parents, and staff over the past year, including through a dedicated survey last spring. Although neither the linear nor semester system is better than the other, there are certainly pros and cons to each, and schools will need to minimize the negatives regardless of the system,” the letter stated.
It was noted that several themes emerged from the feedback including, among other concerns, students stating the importance of help with managing their workload and with being able to receive learning support throughout the school year.
Noting that the school had always used a linear system prior to the pandemic, the letter notified parents that, based on the feedback, the school will be building a “mostly linear” timetable for 2023/24.
“Over the next few months, we will be working with students to help them understand the changes to the timetable and prepare them well for the start of the 2023/24 school year. Parents can expect to receive more detailed information on next year’s timetable and other related information over the next few months,” the letter adds.
