Submitted. With teacher job action continuing across the province and no immediate settlement in sight, the Abbotsford School District has decided to cancel the recess break in middle and elementary schools until teacher job action ends.
“Recess breaks typically require significant involvement of teaching staff,” notes Superintendent Kevin Godden. “Since Stage 1 job action was initiated on April 23rd, the district has deployed its management staff to provide supervision at those times. As job action continues, this creates a challenge for these district staff who are away from their important responsibilities for significant portions of the day. This ongoing interruption to their work has compromised the ability of our district to operate smoothly.”
“This measure is being taken to ensure that each school can adequately supervise students, ensure safety, and to secure the ongoing operation of other district services.”
Recess at elementary and middle schools will be cancelled as of Monday, May 12th onwards, until the BCTF job action is over. As a result, elementary and middle schools will start their day 15 to 20 minutes later. Secondary school schedules will not be affected. District bus transportation schedules are being adjusted to align with revised school start times. Parents of elementary children who take a school bus will be contacted by the district’s Transportation department to confirm the later pick up times. The district does not anticipate this will impact bus pick up times for middle and secondary students. All schools will end their day at the usual time.
In his letter to parents/guardians, Superintendent Godden asked parents “please arrange to have your child arrive at school close to the school starting time and to leave immediately after dismissal, since there will be limited supervision of students at the school during these times.”
Any new information will be provided to parents/guardians through direct communications and the district website.