Exam and Special Education Students return to the Classroom as of Monday

SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (MECYS) would hereby like to provide the general public with an update regarding schools’ readiness to resume operations on campus.

Exam and Special Education Students

On October 6^th, 2020, the Ministry of ECYS provided advice to all Public, Subsidized and Private Schools regarding the manner in which students should return to school campuses. The letter highlighted the fact that due to the current number of Covid-19 cases in St. Maarten and due to the fact that St. Maarten is still experiencing community transmission, schools are advised to have Exam and Special Education students return as per October 19^th, 2020.

School Safety Plans must be in place

All schools are preparing to bring back Exam and Special Education students and the Ministry of ECYS is working to support the process by reviewing the submitted school safety plans as well as conducting the facility inspections.

To date, based on the information received from the Division of Inspection ECYS regarding the schools readiness to receive students on campus some schools are in full compliance with the above-mentioned requirements and thus are ready to receive students on campus as per October 19^th 2020. Other schools have minor adjustments to make to complete their readiness.

The Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs Bovenwindse Eilanden (SVOBE) School Board informed the Ministry of ECYS that its schools are in the process of finalizing its preparations to receive students back on campus, however needed additional time to finalize. The school board indicated that once all preparations are finalized, the intention is to receive students back on school campuses as per October 26^th, 2020.

All schools will be informing parents and students regarding the restart date via their various student tracking systems and online platforms during the course of the next few days.

The Ministry of ECYS would like to remind the general public that prior to the reopening of school campuses, it is of utmost importance that all safety plans and facility inspections are approved.

This requirement is in place in an effort to safeguard the health and safety of students, teachers and staff. As we work together to keep our community safe, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.