REGINA -- Regina Public Schools will move all Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 students to remote learning, effective Dec. 14 to Jan. 11.In a letter signed by Greg Enion, Director of Education, staff and students were notified Monday of the change.

Teachers will continue to work in schools, and provide remote courses for the weeks of Dec. 14 and Jan. 4. The scheduled winter break will still take place from Dec. 21 to Jan 1.

“We have had to close entire classes and schools overnight, often with less than 12-hours’ notice for parents and guardians,” Enion said. “We have been challenged to replace teachers, educational assistants, and other staff who test positive or must self-isolate. We are also acutely aware that if in-school classes were to continue up until the scheduled December 21st holiday break, we could very likely see students and staff having to quarantine away from their families over the entire holiday period. This causes great concern.”

The Regina Public School board said it has seen:

  • 63 student and 26 staff test positive for COVID-19.
  • 39 schools impacted out of 57.
  • 56 classrooms closed.
  • 8 elementary schools and one collegiate closed.
  • More than 8,422 employee absence days so far this year, (24 per cent more than at this point in a typical year).
  • More than 1,100 employee absence days due to quarantine leave.

Terry Lazarou, the communications manager with Regina Public Schools, said the division has been facing significant challenges as a result of the pandemic.

"We're being challenged at the school level, both in terms of providing the learning for our students, and also ensuring that we have adequate staff coverage at schools," Lazarou said. "We're also seeing a lot of anxiety a lot of mental health and wellness issues, both with our students and our staff.”

An educator with Regina Public Schools who wished to stay anonymous said when the announcement came out Monday, many educators were breathing a sigh of relief and expressing gratitude to the school division for making this decision.

"Relief because of the extreme stress of the dangerous situation we've been in up to now," the anonymous educator said. 

The Government of Saskatchewan said this situation shows the flexibility of its Re-Open Plan.

"Regina Public has the ability to change the way that education is being delivered over the next number of weeks but the same situation isn't present in other communities so those school divisions still have the flexibility to have in-class learning," Dustin Duncan, the minister of education, said.

The NDP said the province should be much more engaged than it is.

"That's been the problem all along,” NDP leader Ryan Meili said. “They've left this up to school divisions, don't have public health departments, don't have the resources to deal with this, and they're having to make this up on their own."