Tumbler Ridge parents navigate children’s return to school after mass shooting

Two weeks after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., families are still navigating the difficult question of how best to return to school as temporary classrooms open today to staff and students.

Nicole Noksana is chair of the Tumbler Ridge Parents Advisory Council. Her children attend both the local elementary and secondary school.

She says her family and the community are still processing the aftermath of the Feb. 10 mass shooting that saw eight victims killed, including six children and an education assistant.

“As a small town, we’re very interconnected with families here,” Noksana said. “It’s still very raw.”

Noksana says residents are in the middle of attending funerals, supporting neighbours and families through their grief, with many households changed forever.

She says the parent council started a fund to help the immediate families of the victims, and has been advocating for the needs of students as they transition back to school.

“We’ve been focusing on the immediate needs of the families directly impacted,” she said. “There’s a lot of very real costs.”

Those costs include travel, clothing for families to wear to funerals, as well as rent and mortgages, noted Noksana.

She says there’s mixed feelings in Tumbler Ridge on returning to school.

“There’s definitely students who are ready and families who are ready to be back, and have this structure and routine that school brings,” Noksana said.

“But at the same time, there’s a lot of fear and unanswered questions.”

Noksana says those questions are mostly centred on safety, adding she wants to know how security systems and lockdown procedures will work.

“We have been advocating for answers on a lot of these before kids are back in these buildings,” she said. “The portables look very different from a traditional school building.”

The Ministry of Education and Child Care says a gradual return is planned for students, with options for students to learn in-person, online or a mix of both.

Security has been hired for the temporary classrooms, who will maintain a perimeter there and around the town’s elementary school, the ministry said.

“This gradual return is intended to support students and school staff where they are at, some will be ready and some will not,” said a spokesperson.

“The gradual return includes trauma recovery sessions to support staff and opportunities for staff to attend the temporary facilities to orient themselves and set up for a return to learning.”

School District 59 chair Chad Anderson says today will allow students and families to tour the temporary classrooms and see what measures have been put in place.

He wants the community to return at their own pace.

“Our hope for staff and students is just that they have a comfortable and safe learning environment to come back to.”

The District of Tumbler Ridge released a statement on the return to school, asking for privacy and dignity for the students, staff and families.

It said counselling and mental-health services will continue to be available for residents, but are being moved to the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre.

“Our focus remains on ensuring that when students do return, everyone has the care, resources, and supports they need.”

Noksana says she and her children plan to attend a tour of the new temporary classrooms to inform their decision on returning to school.

She says teachers just as much as students, shouldn’t feel rushed.

“I don’t want anyone to feel pressured to come back to work before perhaps they’re ready to, because they deserve this time to heal before they come and focus on my kids.”

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