The Delta school district is putting its specialty programs on hiatus due to the current COVID-19 situation.
The district announced that its academies, aimed at retaining local students in Delta as well as recruiting from elsewhere, will not commence this September.
Those academy programs include baseball, basketball, dance, film acting, film production and film visual effects, lacrosse, golf, performance and soccer.
As well, the Farm Roots Mini School in South Delta won’t be happening.
The province this week announced there could be a partial return for K-12 in September, however, the Delta school district says it made the difficult decision to suspend the programs due to the inability to determine when operations will return to normal.
“We are extremely saddened at having to make this decision, but felt it was our only option. We remain committed to putting the health and safety of our students and staff first and, as such, we must consider the issue of large numbers of students gathering in any given space and the need to physically distance from each other. This is of particular concern for our Academy Programs where physical contact is commonplace and often extremely difficult to avoid,” said Ted Johnson, director of learning services, in a statement.
Further concerns for the academy programs relate to facility availability, the district notes, adding many of the facilities used for the academies are not available currently and there is uncertainty around when they will be open again.
In addition, transportation is significantly impacted, the district states in its news release.
As a result of physical distancing requirements, only half the number of students will be allowed on a bus.
In addition, bus drivers will be required to wipe down the entire bus before picking up and dropping off another group of students, so as result of the changes, students would have less time in their programs and the cost of transportation would more than double.
The Farm Roots Mini School is on a three-hectare (eight-acre) parcel of land in Boundary Bay. Students in grades 10 to 12 are bussed in from all over Delta every second day to learn about farming
“Although we won’t be running Farm Roots as a regular credit course for the coming academic year, we will keep the farm running and are continuing with our regular schedule of planting and harvesting crops,” said Paige Hansen, academy programs, district vice-principal. “Without a contingent of student farmers to help maintain the farm, we anticipate that we may need volunteers to help with certain tasks from time to time, so if you are interested in helping out, please keep an eye on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.”
The district adds flowers and produce will still be available for sale at the farm’s roadside stand throughout the summer and into the fall.
The school district is also looking into using the produce for the school district’s Food Security Program, which is currently helping to feed more than 125 families weekly.
“We are incredibly proud of our Academies and the Farm Roots Mini School. They are a testament to our staff’s commitment of engaging learners through stimulating, relevant and inspiring educational experiences,” said district superintendent Doug Sheppard. “Although plans to gradually lift pandemic restrictions were announced by Premier Horgan yesterday, there is still significant uncertainty around when all students will be back in school full-time. Even when all students are able to return, the need for physical distancing at these programs and on the school buses will result in logistical and financial challenges that make it impossible to continue the programs at this time.
"Staff, students and their families have been incredibly understanding of this decision. We appreciate their support and look forward to reinstating these programs for the 2021/2022 school year.”
