Full report cards will soon return to the Bulkley Valley School District now that Bill 22 has legislated an end to job action by teachers.
Elementary school students will be the first to receive full report cards, after Board of Education members voted to bump up their next report card day from March 16 to April 19.
“We don’t necessarily know what shape or form that will look like as things play out at the provincial level, but we will send report cards home at that time,” said Superintendent of Schools Chris van der Mark.
“We certainly appreciate the work teachers have done to inform people at this time,” he added.
Since September, teachers have offered to give students informal updates on their performance, as well as doing their regular in-class marking.
“We certainly appreciate the work and the professionalism of our teachers in this valley throughout this time,” van der Mark said. “It’s a tense time.”
Recess returns in April
Bulkley Valley public schools will also see a return to regular recesses, starting as early as April 2.
Since mid-November, classes have started 15 minutes later than usual because teachers refused duties outside class hours as part of job action organized by the B.C. Teachers Federation.
At the time, school district officials said the 27 non-teaching staff who had taken over recess supervision were getting burned out after handling the duties of 140 teachers.
Parents and bus drivers will be notified about the change shortly after Spring Break.
Exchange change
More fee-paying international students may be coming to the Bulkley Valley.
A revised policy on the school district’s exchanges program is in the works, and would look to add a small number of new students.
Officials will also consider raising the $8,000 tuition for fee-paying exchange students, which they say is below what Victoria pays for B.C. residents.