Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
The Government of Alberta has extended winter break for kindergarten to Grade 12 for an additional week until Jan. 10.
School authorities will use the extra time to gather additional data to assess staffing implications and the potential operational impacts of COVID-19, according to the province.
鈥淲ith the COVID situation rapidly evolving, so too must our response,鈥� said Education Minister Adriana LaGrange in a Dec. 30 news release.
鈥淭his pause will give teachers, school administrators and school authorities more time to plan for students to return safely to learning. Under very challenging circumstances, I am very grateful to parents, students, teachers and education partners for their flexibility during the pandemic.鈥�
This comes as the province reported approximately 4,000 new cases on Dec. 30, a record-breaking surge driven by the Omicron variant.
The province will decide later next week if students will learn in class or at home.
Starting the week of Jan. 10, schools will also receive 8.6 million rapid tests and 16.5 million masks from Alberta Health and Municipal Affairs鈥� PPE Task Force.
January diploma exams have been cancelled in order to support high school students whose learning will be disrupted by this extension.
A decision will be made later in 2022 regarding April and June diploma exams.
NDP Deputy Leader Sarah Hoffman said in a statement that the Opposition supported the extension of winter break but criticized the government鈥檚 response.
鈥淪till, we don鈥檛 have a plan. Nothing of the sort. We need to properly staff schools. This government has failed to do this every step of the way during the pandemic.鈥�
The NDP called for N95 masks for teachers, the installation of HEPA filters and upgraded HVAC systems and more funding to families for at-home learning resources.
