Seventy-five per cent of Richmond teachers ended up going back to classrooms in June, while the rest continued remote learning or just worked from home.
This percentage was somewhat lower, however, than its neighbour to the south, the Delta School District where 89 per cent of teachers were back in classrooms in June.
The Richmond school district didn’t give any directive to teachers – unlike in Delta, Vancouver and North Vancouver where they were required to come in.
When schools shut down after spring break because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers started teaching their classes remotely, largely from home. In June, however, the Ministry of Education ordered schools to open up to partial in-class instruction, two days a week for students in kindergarten to Grade 5 and one day a week for students in Grades 6 to 12.
The Richmond school district asked staff whether they were able to transition to in-class instruction in June, and those who were able to, did so while others continued remote learning, according to David Sadler, Richmond school district spokesperson, providing what he called “a balance of both in-person instruction and remote learning opportunities.”
Meanwhile, in the Delta school district 89 per cent of teachers were back in classrooms in June and in North Vancouver, about 90 per cent returned to classrooms.
In the Delta school district, any request for accommodation was assessed on an individual basis, explained Cathryn Tucker, spokesperson for the Delta school district. Most accommodations were for medical reasons and they were accompanied by supporting documentation, Tucker added.
In North Vancouver, teachers were expected back to work if they had no personal or health restrictions. Teachers who couldn’t return to classrooms were also asked to provide supporting documentation.
In Vancouver, teachers were required to provide in-class instruction but the Vancouver School Board didn’t provide the percentage of teachers who actually taught in schools in June.
