Even as families around New Westminster settle in to the new normal of checking temperatures and packing masks in school bags, the school district is continuing its efforts to ensure COVID-19 won’t disrupt student learning.
Karim Hachlaf, superintendent of the New Westminster school district, provided an update to trustees at the school board meeting Oct. 27, held virtually via Webex.
Hachlaf said the district is continuing its commitment to keep families informed about any COVID-19 exposures in schools by sending “early notification letters” to all families at schools where a positive COVID-19 test is reported.
“The early notification process is a big part of our commitment to inform families in a timely fashion,” he said. “Right now as it stands, once the school district receives the information (of the positive test) from Fraser Health, we’re turning around that communication and notifying the impacted school community within a few hours. So we’re doing that quite efficiently.”
Those early notifications include a cover letter from the school district and further details from Fraser Health. They’re sent out both by email and voicemail to ensure all families receive them, Hachlaf noted.
When Fraser Health deems it necessary, the district also follows up with any groups of students or staff who are required to self-monitor.
“That is where Fraser Health has identified a group and they are asked to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 until 14 days beyond the exposure date,” Hachlaf explained. “The self-monitoring request will go to the identified group, and students and staff are able to continue to attend school and work.”
Self-monitoring requests have so far been sent out twice in New West (as of Oct. 27).
But the district hasn’t yet had to go one step further and issue self-isolation requests – which have happened in some cases around B.C. when entire classes have been sent home to isolate.
“Within New Westminster schools, we have only administered the early notification letters and the self-monitoring. We have not needed to do, thankfully, the self-isolation request,” Hachlaf said.
Meanwhile, Hachlaf noted, the district and its staff have continued to work hard to adapt to the new teaching and learning environment that the pandemic has brought.
“Staff truly are doing an amazing job at adapting and learning on the fly, with a real commitment to engage in meaningful ways around the changing landscape, and of course including the online and virtual environments,” he said.
Hachlaf said the district is providing ongoing professional development to support staff in areas such as the Microsoft Teams platform, social-emotional learning, blended learning and online math and reading programs.
