With Phase two of the provincial relaunch starting on Friday June 12, on Wednesday the province made statements about how students will be heading back to school in Alberta.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health and Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange held a press conference on June 10 that detailed the return to schools for Alberta students.

This week the province announced that K-12 schools can reopen for requested diploma exams and summer school, with restrictions. Students will return to regular classes in September 2020.

Minister LaGrange explained that the province had three scenarios to follow, but they were aiming to complete the first scenario.

The first is a return to near-normal operations. Students will resume daily in-school classes with some health measures. The second a partial return to in-school classes and the third a continuation of at-home learning.

“Our goal is to get us back to normal learning as soon as possible,” she said.

“We all know though that students learn best in the classroom with their teachers and their peers, provided that it is safe to do so,” said LaGrange.

By August 1, the government will make the final decision as to which scenario for back to school.

“How we return to in-class learning may vary regionally and may depend on the number of COVID-19 cases in total in that area,” said LaGrange.

School authorities will not be able to pick and choose which scenarios to follow. The decision will be made by the government, based on public health guidance. School authorities will be responsible for developing their own academic calendars.

Health precautions include frequent hand-washing and sanitizing before and after school, increased cleaning of buses and facilities and keeping students home when sick. Family members who have symptoms must not enter the school.

Students and staff should practice social distancing, and extra emphasis will be placed on other hygiene practices where social distancing is not possible.

Should the province put in place the second scenario, students would go to school on a modified calendar. Classrooms would have about 15 students per class.