COVID-19

School District No. 27 values the health and safety of its students and staff. We continue to work closely with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and Interior Health Authority to provide families and staff with the most up to date information on COVID-19.

Helpful Links

Daily Health Check

All parents/guardians have the responsibility to conduct a Daily Health Assessment of their child(ren) prior to sending them to school. The K-12 Daily Health Check website and app is an easy way to decide if your child should attend school based on their symptoms. School District staff will have site specific COVID Daily Health checks.

Cleaning and Hygiene

The health and safety of our workforce is paramount, and it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure reasonable measures are taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. All sites will:

Be cleaned in accordance with Public Health Communicable Disease Guidance for K-12 Schools
Provide adequate handwashing and sanitizing facilities on site for all staff and ensure the location is visible and easily accessed. Develop policies around when staff must wash their hands, including upon arriving for work, before and after breaks, after handling cash or other materials, before and after handling common equipment (photocopiers, etc.)
Where possible, schools will maximize classrooms with sinks for additional hand washing
Consistent focus on handwashing and hygiene
Schools will provide additional hand sanitizing stations to the extent possible
Implement a cleaning protocol for all common areas and surfaces, including washrooms, equipment, tools, common tables, desks, light switches, and door handles. Ensure those engaged in cleaning have adequate training and materials
Washrooms should be cleaned at least once a day or as needed
High touch surfaces should be wiped down at least once a day
Provide time between movement of students for necessary wipe-down or cleaning (this can and should be done by any available staff)
Remove any unnecessary tools or equipment that may elevate the risk of transmission
Staff should not prepare food or share implements or preparation area

Ventilation

School districts must ensure heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed, operated and maintained to Occupational Health and Safety and WorkSafeBC standard.

The province is investing $77.5 million to upgrade or replace school HVAC systems through 2021-2022. These upgrades include:

Full boiler and air-handling system replacements
Upgrades to fan coil systems
Filter racks to accommodate larger filters
Larger ductwork
Updating occupancy sensors along with direct digital control units for building automation controlling air flow rates

During the 2020-2021 school year, $10 million in federal funding was used to:

Update HVAC systems to increase air exchange in 44 of 60 school districts
Purchase more than 45,000 ventilation filters
Update filters to MERV-13 filters in 24 of 60 school districts

Ventilation information for School District 27 has been posted to the District Website.