Education Ministry announces plan to return grades 5-6, 11-12 to the classroom
Proposal, subject to ministerial approval, would see 5th and 6th graders in school at least 3 days a week, 11th and 12th graders at least twice a week
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The Education Ministry on Wednesday made public its plan for the return of students to the classroom, which will see the majority learning in small groups but with no separation on transportation routes and with teachers circulating between classrooms.
The implementation of the plan is subject to approval by ministers in the coronavirus cabinet.
According to the proposal, students in grades 1-2 will study in full-size classes for five hours a day, five days a week.
Currently those children are learning in pods — small groups — for at least four days a week, with wealthier local authorities providing a fifth day. The children in first and second grade will stay in their class groups for afterschool programs.
The proposal has children in grades 3-4 continuing to be kept in capsules of no more than 20 students, with the number of days per week increased from four to five.
Under the plan, children in fifth and sixth grades will come back to school in set groups of up to 20 students for at least three days a week, for a total of at least 14 hours of in-class learning.
The proposal also brings teenagers in grades 11-12 back to the classroom at least twice a week ahead of matriculation. The students will be able to move between two different groups from a choice of homeroom, individual subjects and study groups.
The Education Ministry also proposed that educational activities can be held outside with a maximum of 19 students participating.
Transportation to and from educational facilities will continue in its current form, with students from different classes boarding the same buses.
Additionally, teachers will be permitted to switch between a maximum of four classes, putting them in contact with approximately 80 students.
Physical education teachers can instruct a larger number of groups provided that the activities are outside or in a large indoor space, and the teacher wears a mask and maintains a distance of two meters from the children.
The plan also suggests that schools open more areas for teachers to congregate to prevent overcrowding in lounges.
Last week, ministers allocated a special budget for the plan.
The school year opened on September 1 according to the Education Ministry’s “Safe Learning” plan, which was developed in response to the pandemic and saw full-sized classes for the first two grades, capsules for grades 3 and 4, and an emphasis on distance learning for grades 5 through 12.
The second national lockdown that began on September 18 shuttered the entire education system, with all students moving to remote learning.
The government began removing some restrictions a few weeks ago, opening preschools and kindergartens, then grades 1-4 in pods but in mixed classes for after-school programs.
The rest of the education system has continued with remote learning.
The Times of Israel Community.