Due to the significant health concerns posed by COVID-19 and the importance of following direction from the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) on physical distancing, Education Leaders have agreed with the recommendation from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) that schools be closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

ECE, Education Bodies and the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association (NWTTA) recognize the serious impact school closures will have on students and their families and are committed to working together to find options to provide continued learning for all NWT students.

Recognizing the need for respite during C-19 for families who gave children with complex needs, Child and Family Services is working with ECE to mount a respite program.  More information will be coming as soon as it becomes available.  

There are no plans to lay off any employees at this time.

At this time, not all school staff are required to deliver essential services. Individuals have been notified of their status and if they are non-essential they have been given the opportunity to volunteer for redeployment. 

In the event that a department, such as Health and Social Services, requires additional support, the process for redeployment of education staff is the same as the process for any other GNWT employee volunteering for redeployment. An individual volunteering for redeployment submits their availability, and if they are needed they will be contacted and verified as non-essential before being provided a temporary transfer assignment.

In the case of second semester courses, no. Being that the current second semester high school courses had just begun before classes were suspended, courses will not have progressed enough for teachers to be able to offer a final mark and award credits at the time of course suspension. 

As such, in cases where courses do not resume, and where no other temporary processes are in place, students will be given a mark of ‘incomplete’, rather than a failing mark, allowing them the opportunity to apply for the COVID-19 Credit Recovery option or take the course again the next school year.

In the case of year-long courses, yes -- pending the completion of a final assessment. Teachers and principals can use their professional judgment to determine that a student has completed a significant portion of year-long course requirements or that those requirements can be met with the successful completion of a final assessment that demonstrates the student has met the essential curricular outcomes. 

In this situation, and upon the successful completion of a final assessment as required, the course can be considered as complete and the student given a final mark and the appropriate number of credits. This can be done at any time between now and the end of the school year, once the course is deemed complete.

Students who completed diploma exams earlier in the year will not receive retroactive exemptions for exams.

Current exemptions are intended for extraordinary circumstances faced by students this semester as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other jurisdictions in Canada that have Grade 12 standardized exams, such as Alberta, are responding in a similar way.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta Education is not offering their Diploma Exams program at this time. Students who would like to rewrite a diploma exam will need to wait until it is safe to do so. More details will be shared when they become available.

For students who are retaking a diploma course this semester, and were enrolled prior to school closures, the highest official mark will be reported. 

In most cases, the official mark will be the school-awarded mark as 100% of the final official mark. However, the current school-awarded mark will be considered for blending with previous diploma exam marks if the official mark will improve.

No. Students who are not already enrolled in courses with diploma exams may not do so at this time, unless it is part of their normal programming (i.e. students in alternative school programs).

Students entering Grades 7 and 8 in the 2020-21 school year will continue as laid out in the revised High School Pathways model, including new Graduation Requirements. 

In 2020-21, Grade 7-8 students are encouraged to earn high school credits through the completion of Career and Technology Studies (CTS), Community Service and elective courses (non-core). The Career and Program Plan (CPP) is expected to be introduced in 2021-22 as a graduation requirement completed by Grade 9 students.

Yes. At this time and where possible, high school teachers are being asked to resume all Grade 10-12 courses through distance education to the best of their ability, while focusing on the essential outcomes that will best prepare students to move on to the next level of courses. 

Although the Education Bulletin spoke only to core high school courses (language arts, mathematics, science and social studies), it is now being recommended that all high school courses should resume, if possible. There can be significant impacts to high school students when courses do not resume, including the ability for students to graduate on time and as planned; however, it is understood that situations will occur where schools must suspend some courses for the remainder of the year due to capacity or emergency measures related to COVID-19.

School principals, with the support of their Education Body Superintendent, are asked to determine which high school courses will resume and which will remain suspended for the remainder of the school year as soon as possible. Principals are asked to suspend courses only when necessary and to ensure that impacted students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) are made aware of these decisions as soon as possible.

A Senior Secondary Course Processes document has been developed that identifies options for specific circumstances where courses are unable to continue due to school capacity or students are unable to fully complete their current courses as originally intended. Each student is unique and their specific circumstances will likely require conversations with their teachers and school principals for solutions that work for them, with student and family health and wellness as a priority.

High school teachers are being asked to resume their courses from a distance, to the best of their ability, while focusing on the essential understandings that will enable students to meet the majority of a course's essential outcomes and be prepared to move on to the next course level. 

As described in the NWT Education Bulletin, teachers are expected to assign an average of 3 hours of work per course per week, which is less than regular classes and will require teachers to focus on the most essential understandings of the curriculum, and may require alternate assessment practices for students to accurately demonstrate their learning.

While loss of instruction time is true for all high school courses right now, concerns have especially been expressed about mathematics and science courses, as they are sometimes seen to be more focused on specific content and skills. 

It is understood that some content will not be covered, but this should not impact the students’ final marks in the course. Teachers are being asked to assess students only on the content covered, between when the course started and the end of the school year. However, students will still need to actively participate in distance learning.

In the next school year, teachers of subsequent courses may need to evaluate students’ understanding of prerequisite concepts and provide increased support to students who require them. Options will exist for students who are unable to complete the course in this school year, or who need more time to capture the essential understandings. Each student is unique and their specific circumstances will likely require conversations with their teachers and school principals for solutions that work for them, with student and family  health and wellness as a priority.

Students who are on the land when continued learning resumes will be given the option to apply for credit based on their experience and time on the land. Special projects credits may be available based on learning experience.

Schools will make every effort to contact the students/families to update them on options provided for graduation, awarding of credits and credit recovery.

Supports and temporary processes are being put in place to help students complete their high school courses and receive credit and final marks when appropriate. 

Being that the current second semester high school courses had just begun before classes were suspended, courses will not have progressed enough for teachers to be able to offer a final mark and award credits at the time of course suspension.

Where and when possible, schools should continue offering as many courses as they can. Communication between schools and families is essential during this time, so that students and parents are aware of the courses that have been completed, and of the expectations for the ones that are continuing until the end of the current school year.

As in previous years, formal diplomas are mailed out to each successful graduate.

How and when celebrations may occur will be left to individual schools to determine, as is the normal process. Some ideas for celebration include:

• Grad parades where the grads dress in their formal wear and create a parade of floats - 1 per grad - and tour their community
• Grads dress in their formal wear and decorate the front of their home. They stand in the front of their yard and the community tours around in their vehicles going past grad homes celebrating their successes.
• A collection of decorated boxes, with each grad’s name on it, is placed in a secure public area in the community (e.g. post office) a few weeks before graduation and the community has the opportunity to place cards and notes into the graduate’s box.
• Some communities are making lawn signs with pictures and names of each grad on them and posting them around the community or at each grad’s home.
• Grads can create a video montage of them each receiving their diplomas in their homes.