Thursday September 10, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
With homeschooling being an option chosen by about two percent of families in BC for their children at the start of this 2020/21 academic year (due to concerns about COVID-19 in schools), how are parents being supported in that choice?
Homeschoolers are registered at their local school:
The principal must register the child of any parent who wishes his/her child to be educated at home.
The school principal will offer to the homeschooled child or their parents free of charge:
- Evaluation and assessment services to determine the child’s educational progress in relation to students of similar age and ability;
- The loan of educational resource materials authorized and recommended by the Minister of Education, and which, in the school district’s opinion, are sufficient to enable the child to pursue his/her educational program.
Associations:
For those who are truly homeschooling (i.e. not necessarily following the BC curriculum), there are a number of associations that support parents. More info is available via the BC Home Educators’ Association here: https://bchea.ca/getting-started/new-to-home-education/
Range of learning options in 2020/21:
The full BC’s Back to School Plan was last updated September 4, 2020.
With responsiveness to concerns of parents, students, teachers and support staff, the 2020/21 Back to School Plan includes the (mandatory) in-class learning, remote learning (with option for returning to in-class), distance learning, and home-schooling.
For children/parents on the transition program (i.e. intending to return to in-class instruction) the child’s teacher/district will be providing materials.
The BC Government’s KeepLearning BC site has been designed for parents to support their child’s learning at home. The site has recently been reorganized to continue offering useful activities, information and resource suggestions for students and family.
COVID-driven:
The upsurge in interest for teaching children at home in 2020/21 is generated by health and safety concerns — particularly the challenges to achieve adequate physical distancing — as related to the COVID-19 infectious pandemic.
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry says people of all ages can become infected with the COVID-19 virus. Today she said it’s still not known as to the extent of mid-range to long-term impacts on children, youth and young-adults.
School funding in 2020/21:
The per-pupil funding amount is set by the Ministry of Education each year. Schools must confirm their enrollment by September 30 each year for that academic year. That includes students registered for homeschooling.
Additional funding of $45.6 million for health and safety has been provided by the BC government across school districts. The federal government has contributed as well this year, with $242.2 million (on a per-pupil basis per 100,000 population) coming to BC for distribution.
