EXCLUSIVE: Functional Closures in VSB: What They Are, How They Work, And What Stakeholders Are Saying

Vancouver School Board

In the eight days since Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside announced the extension of Winter Break, the conversation has shifted from "enhanced safety measures" in schools to dealing with potential closures amid rising COVID case counts and hospitalizations.

In a media release posted earlier today, the Vancouver School Board announced that they too are preparing for staff shortages that may lead to a temporary switch to online learning, in a situation called a "functional closure". 

"High case counts may result in insufficient staff compliments at a school. The District may have to close that school on a temporary basis, until the adequate level of staff support for in-person learning and student supervision is available," the release says.

"Functional closures are a last resort. The District will do everything possible to find substitutions and reassign staff. However, if all staffing options are exhausted, the impacted school will shift to online or remote learning on a short-term basis."

The District confirmed they will make efforts to inform families of functional closures and give as advance notice as possible in the event one is called.

How we got here

The VSB's statement regarding potential closures comes as public health officials warn that the province's Omicron-fulled surge may cause as much as a third of the workforce to call in sick after being exposed to or infected with COVID-19.

Aside from the statement, the VSB has shared little information regarding the specifics of what might transpire after a functional closure is called, and a VSB spokesperson said they won't have any new information until next week. 

The Surrey School District, one of comparable size, and the largest in BC, has shared their plans around functional closures with media multiple times in the last week and gives some idea of what one might look like in Vancouver. 

Jordan Tinney, Surrey's superintendent, speaking to CBC News on Wednesday, said in determining what amount of staff necessitates a functional closure, "[the] bottom line is, do we have enough to supervise and provide instruction and to keep the school clean and working?" 

Minister Whiteside told reporters at a press conference earlier today that a staff absentee rate of 25 per cent would present a challenge to continued operations.

Tinney outlined that Surrey's approach to a functional closure would consist of three phases. 

The first phase would be to determine if staffing requirements exceed availability. If they find that they won't be able to meet the minimum supervision or institution requirements, a closure will be called. 

In the second phase, initiated the day following the announcement of a closure, school staff will plan for the transition to online learning. No new instruction would be provided.

The third phase is the full transition to online learning. Students would continue learning in a remote environment for a period of five to ten days.

Each district is responsible for developing its own plan for closures, and while the VSB's plan is not yet public, it is expectedly similar to Surrey's given the information available.

Letters sent from school administrators to families

This afternoon, Hamber families received a letter from school administration informing them of the work staff had been doing throughout the week, and further communicated what closures may mean for Eric Hamber.

Letters like these are sent to families across the VSB from their school administrative teams, all containing similar information tailored to each community. 

The letter acknowledges "it is possible that at some point, a school may need to temporarily close because of the impacts of the Omicron variant." It goes on to share that staff will continue to keep in-person learning as safe as possible, and that efforts will be made to support students in the event of a closure.

Administration reiterates, "during a functional closure, we will shift to providing remote learning opportunities for students to ensure continuity of learning and course completion". They also said in-person learning opportunities for "students with additional needs, such as students with special needs and children of essential workers," may be available during a closure, as done this past week.

In a phone call after the letter was sent, Hamber Principal Ms. Marea Jensen said Hamber Administrators appreciate that not being able to articulate specifics may create worry, and reassured students and families that more information would likely be available Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, after educators become more familiar with the situation.

Jensen stressed that "it's a fluid situation," with "so many unknowns," but said she is confident the professionalism and dedication of staff will keep in-person learning safe and quality of instruction high.

Teachers' association concerned with schools' ability to support students during a closure

The Vancouver Secondary Teachers’ Association, a local of the BC Teachers’ Federation, communicated the teachers’ perspective on functional closures in an email to The Nest early Friday afternoon. 

Treena Goolieff, the local's President, conveyed the VTSA understood the need to retain an in person learning model, particularly for vulnerable students, but she shared that “the VSTA remains concerned at the ability to provide adequate support to these students if schools are significantly impacted by absenteeism due to COVID-19.”

When asked about the challenges posed to Vancouver secondary teachers in the event of a switch to a temporary online model, Goolieff noted that it “would impact and increase the workload of teachers.” 

Goolieff also raised the issue of difficulty with certain courses being moved online, “particularly those that rely on specialized equipment – lab-based science classes, ADST courses to name a few.”

When this was relayed to Jensen, she said that teachers and administrators learned a lot from the last school year and will be using their experiences to guide them in transitioning courses online should they be required to.

Jensen also shared that Hamber was reaching out to families who may require extra support, as well as assessing what equipment and technology may be to be borrowed in the event of a closure. It is expected that other schools across the District are conducting similar proactive actions.

Discussing the week of January 4 to 7, Goolieff shared that “This week has been helpful for teachers to provide time to think, collaborate with others, plan and look ahead to the possibilities of a move to an online model.” Though, she did say it has proven difficult for teachers to plan for something that is not yet definite. 

District parents' council says communication is paramount

In advance of the VSB's media release, the Vancouver District Parents Advisory Council had clear expectations for what a return to school with functional closures should look like. 

DPAC said the necessity for parents is communication. 

DPAC Chair Gord Lau told The Nest that “Parents need clear communication as far in advance as possible of a functional closure, and the more services that school provides to their children, the more clear that communication will need to be.” He explained this meant vulnerable learners, those who rely on schools the most, “cannot be afterthoughts in communication.”

Lau emphasized the need for communication about the need for technology, especially as some students and families will not have the same access to it as others. He went on to share that he “would want a lot of flexibility given by teachers” in conjunction with “consistency in tools and expectations between teachers,” particularly at the secondary school level. 

He also mentioned the hope for more remote learning options, especially as some families may decide that they cannot risk a return to in-person school. 

Lau shared that he would like to see “teachers to prioritize and condense their January lessons as best they can”, and include with supplemental materials “for students that wish to delve more deeply.” 

He added that it can be expected that students may miss school more frequently or for more time, so there is a need for that to be recognized and planned for. 

Administrators' association says continuity of learning primary concern during functional closures

Darren Danyluk, the President of the BC Principals' & Vice-Principals' Association, outlined in an email the primary considerations needed when preparing for functional closures.

Danyluk noted that a functional closure would likely last for multiple days, causing the primary concern to be the continuation of learning for students. He went on to say that over the last week, schools have been planning for this possibility, coming up with communication plans for parents and students in the case of sudden and abrupt school closures.

The BCPVPA wants learning to seamlessly transfer online if closures happen, stating that the primary goal for BC schools was to “keep flying” in case that teachers and staff are sick and cannot report to work.

Danyluk pointed out that functional closures are not novel ideas, with a number of schools throughout the province moving online temporarily in the past 20 months due to staffing issues, albeit at a less frequent rate than what is predicted with the Omicron variant.

He reiterated that BC schools are safe for all, staff and students alike. However, to keep in-person safe and in line with public health recommendations, Danyluk believes that “clear, effective, and timely communications from our provincial leaders [are] always important.”

With a COVID environment, he remarked that “foster[ing] a sense of security, confidence and community [is] exhausting,” especially for school staff, leaving very little energy for themselves.

The Nest reached out to the Vancouver District Students' Council but did not receive a reply.

The Ministry' of Education’s Communications Director Sean Leslie did not respond to multiple inquires.