N.L. high school students move to online learning; K-9 back in the classroom | CBC News

High school students in Newfoundland and Labrador will be moving to online learning models, while students from kindergarten to Grade 9 will return to in-class learning effective March 18, provincial officials announced Thursday.

Education Minister Tom Osborne says the changes are being made in accordance with advice from public health officials, following the change of alert levels.

Some high schools with smaller class sizes that can accommodate a mandatory two-metre distancing rule outlined by public health guidelines will be permitted to return to in-class learning. Schools in the francophone school district with small class sizes and room for distancing will also return to in-class learning.

“We’ve heard mostly positive feedback around online learning at the high school level,” Osborne said during a briefing update Thursday afternoon.

However, there have been some challenges, Osborne said, and the department will be adding additional contracts for substitute teachers to be resources for students struggling.

Osborne said mask-wearing will be mandatory for the full day for students in grades 4 through 9 and recommended for kindergarten to Grade 3 students where possible.

Staff will be required to wear three-layer masks and eye protection, Osborne said, adding that face shields have been provided, but goggles are also permitted.

With masks required all day and students in cohorts within classes — “an extended bubble, really” — Osborne said his department has “full confidence” that public health has guided them well.

Osborne said the measures will be revisited after Easter “to ensure they are still best practice.”

This is a breaking news update. A previous version of the story is below.

Education officials will release details today on what to expect in K-12 schools when the Avalon Peninsula moves to Alert Level 4.

Education Minister Tom Osborne and Newfoundland and Labrador School District CEO Tony Stack will release details during a briefing starting at 12 p.m. NT. It will be streamed live on the provincial government’s YouTube channel.

Schools on the Avalon have been moved to fully virtual classrooms since the coronavirus variant B117 outbreak that started in Mount Pearl in February, which prompted the entire province to go into lockdown under Alert Level 5.

Outside the Avalon, where there was a far lower number of new cases reported, lockdown measures were eased at the end of February, with dozens of schools reopening with a combination of in-class and virtual learning.

On Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced that — effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday — the Avalon region would move into Alert Level 4, while all other areas of the province will move to Alert Level 3, barring any spike in cases.

That will mean a number of changes for the public and businesses, with the reopening of a number of services permitted.