Announcements

Dear First Nations Schools and Authorized Representatives,

The First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and First Nations Schools Association (FNSA) are providing information on a new COVID-19 support initiative available to schools in BC, including First Nations schools. The BC Ministry of Education has established COVID-19 Rapid Response Teams to support schools regarding their COVID-19 safety plans and, if necessary, to conduct assessments of significant school exposure/outbreak events. The teams are composed of staff from BC public school districts and the Federation of Independent Schools Association (FISA) working in collaboration with regional health authority personnel.

Participation in the Rapid Response Team initiative is completely voluntary and at the discretion of individual First Nations. The Ministry of Education, FNESC, and the FNSA fully respect the authority of individual First Nations to make decisions about school operations in the best interests of their students, schools, and communities, and we further recognize that a number of schools will opt to remain fully or partially closed. First Nations are under no obligation take part in this initiative.

First Nations who may be interested in this initiative can contact the Rapid Response Team Lead for their local health region, as described in the document provided.

You can find previous updates and information on our COVID-19 information page.

Wishing everyone good health.