Merritt evacuee concerned for her daughter’s education

KAMLOOPS — Merritt Evacuee, Bobbie Labelle, worries about how her 10-year-old daughter Seriena will get an education while her family is evacuated in Kamloops.

“Just a few weeks can damage or prolong it or discourage them – all of the kids – from wanting to learn and wanting to go to school, because it’s too hard,” Labelle told CFJC News.

Three out of six schools in Merritt were damaged by flooding — and Sarina’s is one of them.

The Nicola-Similkameen School District (SD58) says evacuated students will likely have to go back to online learning — but Seriena wants the option to do in-person learning.

“You just get to talk to people like in real life and actually play with them. and not just like, talk to them online,” Seriena explains.

The SD73 superintendent is offering Merritt students the option to attend in-person classes in Kamloops while they are evacuated.

So far, 10 families have already signed up.

“The literature is really clear in terms of mental health, that everybody needs structure and routine in times of trauma,” SD73 Superintendent Rhonda Nixon says. “The school district superintendents have gotten together with the Ministry, and we’ve made a promise to do that and provide normalcy to these families, and that includes the structure of schools.”

It’s a solution for the time being, but the Labelle Family’s property has no damage.

Labelle says she might be able to return home in a few weeks and commuting to Kamloops schools for an in-person education isn’t an option. That will make online learning Seriena’s only option.

“From the pandemic, I mean, really I was disappointed in the way the education was and how the next year she had to struggle in that first few months just to kind of catch up,” Labelle says.

“I believe what we’ll see is hopefully a combination of face-to-face and online learning,” SD58 Superintendent Steve McNiven explains.

The Merritt administration is looking at alternative options to ensure students have the best education possible.

“We’re also hoping that we can place some face-to-face learning outside in our Indigenous communities and we’re looking to move towards that quite quickly if possible. Nicola Valley Institute of Technology reached out to us early, other possibilities are there,” McNiven says.

The district adds that finding other facilities will take some time. Until then, Bobbie says she is thankful Seriena will have an in-person education in Kamloops — even if it’s for a short period of time.

“She needs that social interaction with the other kids,” Labelle says.