A North Vancouver mom nervous about sending her two young daughters to school during the COVID-19 pandemic has started an online network for parents considering homeschooling their kids.
Elizabeth Mah says the response so far has been overwhelming.
Mah, a lawyer with Paperclip Law, who has daughters going into kindergarten and Grade 1, said she recently put out a call in a Facebook group for North Vancouver moms for those considering alternative school options to share ideas and advice.
The response was swift. So far the group – which is limited to those in North Vancouver – has over 100 members and is growing, she said.
Some of the parents have homeschooled their children before and are offering advice. Some are teachers not sure they want to go back to the classroom, she said. Some are still weighing their options.
So far, being able to connect with other likeminded parents has given her more confidence, said Mah. “Maybe this is an opportunity to do something different.”
Mah said during the pandemic, her family has maintained a fairly small social bubble.
Mah said she wasn’t comfortable with how many other people her family members would be exposed to if her daughters both returned to school.
“Many of the kids in their classes would probably be going to before- and after-school care,” said Mah. “I don’t know who they’re socializing with. It felt like too big of a leap.”
“I’m lucky that we have the option to choose,” she said.
A return to school in September will be mandatory, meaning parents who choose not to send their children to school will have to register either for distance education offered by public or private schools, or for home schooling.
The North Vancouver School District has a “distributed” or online learning program that allows students in grades 8 to 12 to take some courses online.
Usually there are between 2,600 to 3,000 students enrolled in the district’s program, according to Joanne Robertson, director of the program. But the program is currently full and isn’t accepting new registrations.
West Vancouver does not have a distance education program.
Students can enroll in distance education programs outside their home district.
There are 48 school districts with 56 public schools offering distributed learning courses, as well as 16 private schools offering distance courses, according to the Ministry of Education.
But many of those programs are already full, said Mah, who said she’s added her kids to waiting lists for distance education at three different schools already.
If that doesn’t work out, and a hybrid school plan isn’t offered, Mah said she’ll likely end up homeschooling her young daughters.
“I’m 99 per cent certain we’re not going to be in the public school system in September.”
