Two B.C. schools move to ‘functional closure’ after holiday break, says ministry
Posted January 11, 2022 5:42 pm.
Last Updated January 11, 2022 5:54 pm.
Two schools have stopped in-person classes in British Columbia, less than two days after most students returned to classrooms following an extended holiday break due to surging COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
The Education Ministry said Tuesday that schools in Hazelton and Surrey recently made the decision.
Ginger Fuller, secretary treasurer of the Coast Mountain School District, says officials will meet Wednesday to decide when to reopen Hazelton Secondary School to regular classes after it was closed because of a staff shortage, which was the result of “illness.'”
The ministry said the independent Bibleway Christian Academy in Surrey has also suspended in-person classes.
No one from the school was immediately available to comment.
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Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside says local school administration officials, including principals, make decisions about closing in-person classes and moving to temporary online teaching.
“I’d say that that local staff and our districts are everyone in our in our education system is working very, very hard to do everything we can to mitigate the impact of COVID so we can continue to keep kids connected to in-person learning.”
