Vancouver School Board adds more in-person learning for high school students

The Vancouver School Board (VSB) has announced a number of changes to give secondary students more in-person class time while complying with BC’s COVID-19 health and safety requirements.

As it stands, instead of taking eight courses at a time for the whole school year, secondary students are on a quarterly system where they take only two courses at a time. A pair of courses is completed every ten weeks.

The changes are scheduled to being on February 4, 2021, and according to the VSB, allow “for consistency across all 18 secondary schools.”

The first change is that all students in Grade 8 will attend their remote class in person, twice a week. Schools will also go on a one-week rotation between having remote and in-person classes.  Finally, all students will have “three interactive learning opportunities” for remote classes with increased social interaction.

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Rob Schindel, Associate Superintendent of the VSB, says that the changes reflect feedback from members of the school community, and factors like student attendance and performance.

“We have been listening to students, families, and staff, and we have been analyzing information about student attendance and achievement,” he says in a statement.  “The changes also reflect our commitment to student well-being, transparency, and data-driven decision-making.”

Between November 25 and December 6, 2020, the VSB asked for input from secondary school students and their families on the current school year. The VSB says that they received feedback from 5,176 students and 6,163 families.

Secondary schools that belong to the VSB will publish adjusted school-wide schedules before the changes are officially made.