The Burnaby school district is keeping about 1,000 international students busy with field trips and cultural activities as the B.C. teachers’ strike chews through the second week of the new school year.
The students, who each pay $13,000 a year in tuition and about $900 a month for homestay accommodations, have visited UBC, Grouse Mountain, the Museum of Anthropology and Stanley Park.
“All activities have taken place outside of the school district and did not involve any work done by teachers,” assistant superintendent Heather Hart told the NOW in an emailed statement.
Hart said district non-union and CUPE staff ran orientations for international students, but English assessments, school tours and meetings with school counsellors had to be deferred.
In her emailed statement, Hart said international students have been told the district is “hopeful that the current labour situation will be resolved in the near future.”
Asked whether students had been warned in June or during the summer about the possibility of lost school days, Hart said the district had anticipated the labour situation would be resolved during the summer and that the school year would begin on time.
Once the school year does begin, Hart said students will receive “a full program and full course credits” and that learning outcomes for international students will be met.
“We may have to adjust things to do that, but those outcomes will be met,” she said.
So far enrolment has not been affected by the strike, with the district registering more international students this year than last, according to Hart.
Burnaby’s international program is expected to generate about $14.3 million in revenue this year and cost about $8 million to run.
