Over the past couple of days we have noticed these items showing up in Manitoba newspapers.
Virtual school a reality no more
Parents, students lament program’s shutdown; ‘It’s just a devastating decision for us’
Manitoba is shuttering its virtual elementary school and sending both students who are immunocompromised and their peers who found success learning remotely — a silver lining that came out of COVID-19 disruptions — back to in-person instruction.
The Manitoba Remote Learning Support Centre, based out of Winnipeg’s St. James-Assiniboia School Division, is winding down operations after the current academic year.
To continue reading, please visit https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/02/14/virtual-school-a-reality-no-more
Virtual school shutting down
WINNIPEG — Manitoba is shuttering its virtual elementary school and sending both students who are immunocompromised and their peers who found success learning remotely — a silver lining that came out of COVID-19 disruptions — back to in-person instruction.
The Manitoba Remote Learning Support Centre, based out of Winnipeg’s St. James-Assiniboia School Division, is winding down operations after the current academic year.
To continue reading, please visit https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2023/02/15/virtual-school-shutting-down
These news items seem to be confirmed by the organization’s own mailings – see the “Manitoba Remote Learning Support Centre” tag at Virtual School Meanderings.
The interesting thing about this development is that prior to COVID, with the exception of a few private schools in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, there was very little online learning at the elementary level across Canada. The distance education that occurred at the elementary level tended to be delivered in a correspondence format. Now that some elementary students and parents/guardians have had an opportunity to experience more structured online learning, it is a bit surprising that we are seeing this option being taken away altogether. While online learning is certainly not the best option for all elementary-aged students, there are some students who thrived in this environment. To see that option removed for those students seems counterintuitive.