School division’s international program uncertain

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Golden Hills School Division is adapting to the challenges and peculiarities of the COVID-19 pandemic – but uncertainty remains about future enrolment to its international program.

According to Golden Hills School Division (GHSD) superintendent Bevan Daverne, the pandemic has created uncertainty regarding the school board’s international learning program going forward.

“We still have many students who would like to come and study at Golden Hills for next year, but we do not know what the international travel rules will be, and we don’t know what it will be like for students coming into Canada,” said Daverne.

Going forward, the school board will continue being “very careful” with risk associated with the virus, said Daverne.

“As we get closer to September, obviously we are going to follow whatever Alberta Health regulations are in place, to make sure it’s safe not only for students coming in, but of course, safe for our own students and staff and families in the area,” he said.

Recruitment efforts are ongoing but have changed due to bans on international travel, he said.

“Normally we work with agents in about 30 countries around the world, but now our recruitment is all happening over video conferencing and by phone.”

The school board’s international student program brings revenue into the system and gives all students a more worldly view, he said.

“Because of the additional students and that revenue, it allows our smaller high schools to be able to provide even more options and programming for our own resident kids,” he said. “It also helps to bring in a more global, multicultural perspective. It’s a real win-win in our communities.”

As for local students, GHSD teachers are currently instructing via video conferencing, developing at-home lesson plans, and maintaining connections with students and parents. 

Schoolwork from home has been shared on Alberta Learning at Home, a Facebook group developed by GHSD, on which content from across Alberta is being shared, using the hashtag #ABlearningnathome.

The group shows that successful learning-from-home can take multiple approaches, said GHSD board chair Laurie Huntley.

“Part of the objective of the learning at home site is to show it’s happening differently in lots of different kitchens,” said Huntley. “We have a lot of respect for how parents choose to manage (learning) at home, because everyone comes from a different circumstance.”

During a press conference on May 1, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney reiterated that schools in Alberta will be closed for the remainder of the school year.

“We will not be reopening the schools as a general rule for the balance of this academic year,” said Kenney, who added the option to open schools later in the summer to regain some of the lost time is being considered, but depends on consultation with school boards and the chief medical officer.

But learning at home will “keep going” until school is out officially on June 30, said Daverne.