The Richmond Board of Education has written to the Ministry of Education to request “further flexibility” on restarting schools and to keep funding in place even if parents don’t send their kids back in September.
The letter, signed by board chair Ken Hamaguchi, states the school district has received feedback from parents expressing apprehension about sending their kids back to school.
The board’s concern is that the current schedule – students returning on Sept. 10 two days after teachers and other staff start working – is “too rigid” and they are requesting a gradual entry.
“Although our schools will be reaching out to our parent community to determine parents’ tentative plans, it will be very challenging to have students placed in their final assigned class and cohort by Thursday, September 10th,” the letter states.
Cohorts will consist of 60 students in elementary schools and 120 in high schools.
The school district has been meeting with stakeholder groups, for example, the Richmond Teachers' Association and Richmond District Parents Association, this week and will submit a plan to the ministry by Aug. 21. The plan is required to be made public by Aug. 26 after ministry approval.
In the letter, Hamaguchi states the school district is being “creative wherever possible in designing program options” to meet the needs of the community.
“But many parents continue to express significant fear and anxiety about having their child attend in-person,” the letter continues.
The school district is largely funded per student, and they want to ensure funding stays in place even if students choose remote learning, keeping a connection between schools and families.
“It would be our hope that students whose parents choose not to have their child immediately return to in-person instruction in September can be placed in the school, and hold a fully-funded spot, even if they register for home schooling or distributed learning,” Hamaguchi explains in the letter.
A recalculation is normally done at the end of September to see how many students are actually enrolled, and this affects how much funding the school district gets.
After hearing concerns from many families in Richmond over the past week, including a petition that garnered hundreds of signatures, about going back to school (see story), the Richmond News reached out several times to the school district to request an interview with school board representatives.
Parent concerns included the size of cohorts, the lack of options for remote learning and the worry about losing a spot in the public school system.
Scott Robinson, Richmond superintendent of schools, declined interviews.
