September 1, 2020

Dear Parents:

We recognize that parents are seeing other school districts offer an additional option to address concerns about sending children back to school for in-class instruction. Since the release of our back to school plan on August 26, we have been connecting directly with those parents who continue to have questions to try to address their concerns. Based on the many unique circumstances and different requests we have received we believe it is unlikely that an additional option will meet all families’ needs. As a result, Delta’s approach is for the district and school principals to work with families on a personalized transition for their children if needed.

Our advice to parents of elementary school children who are undecided of what to do is to keep their child registered at their local school for in-class instruction:

• This will ensure that their child is assigned a place in a learning group/class at their local school, and that schools are staffed appropriately to accommodate students.
• We understand that some families may want to take a ‘wait and see’ approach for a couple of weeks before sending their child into school. In such instances, we will hold a spot for these children and work with these families to develop a transition plan for their child based on their unique circumstances. Parents will be the primary educational supports for their children during this transition. The school will provide periodic check ins beginning the week of September 21.
• If families subsequently decide they would prefer their child to be in a distributed learning program, they can transition into the Home Quest program later in September.

We strongly encourage parents who are choosing to keep their child registered at their local school to send their child for the health and safety orientation days on September 10 and 11. We plan to have students in their learning groups by Thursday so they will be invited in to their school in small groups so as to meet health and safety guidelines. Your school will be in touch soon with further information advising you as to what time to bring your child(ren) to school on Thursday and Friday of next week.

Our advice to parents who are certain that they would like their child to remain out of the classroom for the entire school year is to choose Home Quest, our distributed learning program for K-9 students. Home Quest requires a full-year commitment as it is far more difficult for a child to transition from a distributed learning program into the classroom during the year as learning groups/classes and staffing at schools are developed at the start of the school year, and there may not be the capacity for additional students mid-year.

If you have further questions or concerns, or if you have a child in Secondary school and your family is experiencing unique circumstances where your child is not ready to return to school, please contact your child’s principal or vice-principal directly to discuss the best approach for your situation.

In the meantime, as the vast majority of our students will be returning to school, our priority is on ensuring a safe return to school and placing children in to learning groups so that we can get in-class instruction started as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we continue to navigate these uncertain times.

Sincerely,

Lorrenne Alkema

Principal