Kindergarten to Grade 12 students will return to classrooms the week of Aug. 18 with safety guidelines and contingency plans that prepare for a resurgence of COVID-19.

“This has been a school year like no other; this has been a challenging time for everyone,” Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told a news briefing Tuesday afternoon.

“Education is an essential service, and the longer that students are away, the larger the impact.”

McPhee said schools – whose closure was announced April 7 – are at the beginning stages of planning to host students in classrooms again for the 2020-21 school year.

Each school will create individual operational plans based on safety guidelines provided by Dr. Brendan Hanley, the chief medical officer.

These plans will be shared with parents in August, and will likely look different from community to community.

Hanley told the briefing operational plans will generally include hand washing stations, physical distancing rules and potentially smaller class sizes and shorter hours.

A document was shared with parents and guardians Tuesday outlining some of the things to be expected from the new school year.

Currently, the plan is for students to return to classrooms full-time. 

If the risk of COVID-19 rises, school capacities may be limited to 50 per cent, 20 per cent, or shut down entirely.

If capacity is limited, essential groups of students with disabilities or diverse learning needs would be prioritized to remain in classrooms.

At 50 per cent capacity, the remainder of students would attend school on a part-time rotating schedule. At 20 per cent capacity, only essential students would attend school.

The document advised that “schools will not be business as usual during the pandemic.” Busing arrangements, school schedules, lunch hour and recess all may be adjusted.

If some students need to remain at home, they can continue their learning by distance.

Guardians will be contacted by their local school to confirm each child’s attendance.

Hanley said the risk for children contracting COVID-19 at Yukon schools is lower than the negative impact of keeping children at home long-term.

Hanley explained that data from other parts of Canada show that children are more likely to catch COVID-19 at home than at school, and tend to experience a milder form of the disease.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, children under 19 represent seven per cent of COVID-19 cases, with less than one per cent requiring hospitalization and no deaths.

“It is most important for children’s health to stay active, and stay actively learning,” Hanley said.

Keeping children away from school puts some kids at risk of domestic violence and social isolation.

“The social issues from this pandemic will have longer-reaching impacts than the virus itself,” Hanley said.

“Even while incurring a calculated risk of COVID introduction, we know this small risk must be balanced with the harms of keeping students out of school for too long.”

McPhee noted that the government is still at the initial planning stages, and more detail will be available for students and guardians into summer.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent told the Star this morning he found the announcement leaves many questions unanswered.

“I think, again, the lack of details in yesterday’s announcement was disappointing for many families, and there’s certainly a lack of transparency about what schools might look like for the upcoming year,” said Kent, his party’s education critic.

The lack of clarity on classroom and bus schedules is challenging for families, Kent said.

“The big thing that I’m disappointed about is that the planning isn’t further along,” Kent said.

“When the initial reopening plan was released by the Yukon government, they talked about conversations taking place in May and June with communities.

“They are just starting to engage with school councils now.”

Sharing operational plans this spring, rather than waiting until August, would have allowed some room for conversation and adjustment, he pointed out.

“Leaving it so late in the game and not making it public until school is scheduled to go back in creates some challenges,” Kent said.

NDP Leader Kate White said she was relieved to see the announcement about schools reopening.

“I know for lots of families and lots of parents right now, the challenge of trying to work from home and educate their children at the same time, while doing it remotely, without being teachers, has been incredibly challenging,” White said.

“That’s not even including all the reasons why schools are important for kids.”

White said she is confident that school staff will iron out the details in time for a successful start to the school year.

“I have to give full credit to the Department of Education and educators – they are fluid and flexible; they’ll get it sorted out,” White said.

“I think loading us with details that may change isn’t effective.”