CBE alters stance, offers families additional opportunity to enrol students in online learning

Pylons divide a school hallway in Calgary as directional arrows aim to direct foot traffic as school resumes during the COVID-19 pandemic. (file)

CALGARY -

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Calgary public school board is permitting families to move their children from in-class learning to an online option for the coming school year.

The move was announced in a letter from Christopher Usih,  the Calgary Board of Education's chief superintendent of schools, to parents and guardians sent Thursday morning.

Beginning Aug. 23, families may request a transfer to CBE-learn — the school board's online school option — for the entirety of the 2021-2022 school year for students in Grade 1 through 12.

Requests must made to the school where the student is currently enrolled. The steps for transferring to online learning are available at CBE – Full Time Online Learning.

Students who move from in-class to online learning will begin the new school year on Sept. 7 or Sept. 13, dependent on the timing of both the initial request and the school board's approval.

The CBE had previously set an April 23 deadline for transferring to online learning for the upcoming school year.

In class learning starts Sept. 1.

On Wednesday, the CBE announced that masks would be mandatory for all students and staff in indoor settings for the start of the school year.