Newly-minted NDP MLA Henry Yao was planning to face some frustrated Richmond parents, via Zoom, who are pressing the provincial government to offer online classes only for secondary and elementary school students.
Currently, the school district is offering three options for secondary students: back to school in-person, home-schooling (which cuts the student off from the school district) or transitional learning through Richmond Virtual School (RVS).
Elementary students have four options: in-person learning at school, home schooling, distributed learning and transition learning.
The Richmond Board of Education is considering extending the transitional learning program past Jan. 31 and will discuss it at its Dec. 16 meeting.
However, given the growing list of COVID-19 exposures in Richmond schools recently, some parents are urging the school district and Ministry of Education to take a step further by moving all classes online, explained Richmond parent Hai Lin.
“Many parents’ anxieties have been high over the past few weeks after being bombarded with fresh numbers on (possible) COVID-19 infections at schools on a daily basis. Because of the overwhelming concerns I have heard from parents, I decided to (request) a meeting with Yao,” said Lin, who also established a poll question last week on WeChat asking parents what they thought about doing away with in-person learning entirely for the foreseeable future.
As of Dec. 8, the poll received 620 votes, with 382 people in favour of moving all courses online and 192 people supporting both in-person and online learning, according to Lin, who shared a screenshot of the results with the Richmond News.
“Many parents told me they couldn’t imagine if their kids got COVID-19, which would be so devastating. The most horrible part is many Chinese immigrant families have…three generations living under the same roof. If kids catch the deadly virus, they will likely put their grandparents’ lives at risk,” said Lin.
However, Lin’s suggestion doesn’t sit well with all parents.
Diana Chen, a mother of two, believes the school district should maintain the current learning structure since every family looks different and has different needs.
“For some families like us having two working parents, we couldn’t assist our kids with online learning at home. And some children have parents who don’t speak English as their first language. They need other learning options. Why don’t you keep all learning options open,” said Chen.
Yao told the Richmond News that the meeting, scheduled for Dec. 9, is an opportunity for him to hear and record residents’ concerns and provide that information to the ministries of health and education.
“The hope is to open a channel of dialogue around the pandemic and schools as many parents are sharing their concerns and we want to make sure their fears are heard,” said the MLA for Richmond South Centre.
“There is no intention to answer questions, as I do not represent the ministries. However, I am confident the ministries will help us understand their goals and objectives,” Yao wrote in an email reply.
