EDMONTON, AB – Students in Alberta will be getting an extended winter break as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across the province.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange called a late afternoon press conference on Thursday (Dec. 30) to announce that K-12 classes won’t be resuming until Monday, Jan. 10 province-wide.
“This pause will give teachers, school administrators and school authorities more time to plan for students to return safely to learning,” LaGrange said in a written statement. “Under very challenging circumstances, I am very grateful to parents, students, teachers and education partners for their flexibility during the pandemic.”
She also says diploma exams, which were set to begin that week, will be cancelled. A decision will be made later in 2022 regarding April and June diploma exams.
LaGrange says the province has also secured 8.6 million at-home rapid tests and will be distributing them to Alberta schools when classes resume, along with 16.5 million medical grade masks.
She says she’ll have more details next week on what the province’s finalized return to school plan will look like. Further information and guidance for school authorities and parents is available on the Government of Alberta website.