With school on hold in much of N.W.T., some parents worry about impacts on students

School officials in Yellowknife and the N.W.T.'s South Slave region say they yet don't know when school will start, or how schools will make up for lost learning. And that has some parents worried, and considering other options for their kids.   

Students in many N.W.T. communities were supposed to start classes this week. But with wildfires still active in the territory, and evacuation orders still in place, many staff and students are scattered across the country, still waiting to come home.

David Wasylciw, chair of the board of trustees for Yellowknife Education District 1, says the school board is hoping to get kids back in schools about a week after the Yellowknife evacuation order has been lifted and staff are back in the community.

"There's a lot of moving parts, much like everything else from the evacuation," he said.

South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSEDC) superintendent Souhail Soujah told CBC News that school board is now aiming for a "tentative" start date of Sept. 11. But there is a potential that the date may be pushed back further.

"It all depends on the fire situation, of course, and our ability to return back to our communities," Soujah said.

Soujah said that SSDEC is considering potential ways to make up for lost class time, but that it won't be able to put a plan in place until it's clear how much school students will miss. 

In Yellowknife, Wasylciw says that his board hasn't heard any proposals from administration yet on how schools will make up for lost instructional time.

"Right now all the effort is going into planning how to get people back… and get that part going," he said. "So I think the sort of discussions around what may change or what may not change is probably a little premature." 

Impact on students

Parents say all of this uncertainty is taking a toll on students.

Miki Erlich has two kids enrolled at Sir John Franklin high school in Yellowknife.

Her family is currently staying in Victoria, B.C., where they were visiting family when the Yellowknife evacuation order hit. She says compared to many evacuees, her family is fortunate to be in a safe place with loved ones — and also to have avoided the stress of fleeing Yellowknife when the evacuation order was issued.

But uncertainty around how long they will be away from home, and what it will mean for school, is affecting her kids — especially her daughter, who is going into Grade 12 and hoping to apply this year for post-secondary school.

"I think there is a feeling of worry about how behind they'll be," Erlich said. "They're worried it might make school more intense."

Erlich said that so far she is happy with the communication she has received from her children's school. As the situation evolves, she is hoping the school board will let parents know what supports are available to help kids who might be behind.

Exploring other options

Meanwhile, some N.W.T. parents are choosing to enrol their children in Alberta schools.

The government of Alberta has invited N.W.T. evacuees to enrol in local schools until evacuation orders in their own communities are lifted.

One parent who has taken advantage of this option is Sarah Poitras from Hay River, N.W.T. She is a social worker, and a parent to four kids. Her youngest child is 13 months old, and her three older kids are 10, seven, and five years old. 

When she learned that she had the option to register her kids in Alberta schools, she said it was difficult to make that decision without knowing how long the evacuation would last. But ultimately she decided to enrol her kids in a school in St. Albert, where her family registered as evacuees.

For Poitras's family, this is the fourth time that school has been disrupted in the last few years. First, her kids missed school because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Hay River was evacuated when devastating floods hit the town in the spring of 2022. And this past May, they were forced to leave town again when Hay River was threatened by another wildfire. The more recent evacuation order came nearly three weeks ago.

"For us personally as a family, it's just been too much, too much loss of school," she said.

Other families, however, are choosing to wait the evacuation out. 

Kelsey Townend is a parent of three from Hay River. Her family left Hay River by car during the evacuation, and they're currently staying with family in Calgary. 

Her three sons — aged 16, 13, and four, have told her they are disappointed to be missing school.

But she said that for now, the family is more focused on maintaining a sense of normalcy after a frightening escape from Hay River. 

"I'm trying to keep it simple," she said.

"School definitely comes after our mental health and ensuring everyone's OK … eventually they're going to get back."