Kyiv schools will start the academic year in a new format

Kyiv schools plan to start the first week of the new school year in a face-to-face format. In the future, they will be able to change the format depending on air alerts and the security situation in the capital.

This was announced by Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Valentyn Mondryivskyi.

The Kyiv City State Administration explained that prolonged air raid warnings can actually disrupt a significant portion of the school day. For example, on August 28, the warnings in Kyiv lasted a total of 158 minutes – almost four lessons out of the standard six.

Therefore, the capital’s schools are preparing several options for organizing education. Among them are classes in shelters for younger students, a combination of face-to-face and distance learning, a fully distance format, and second-shift learning.

Which option the school will use will depend on the situation and its capabilities, including the provision of shelter. If necessary, the format can be quickly changed due to the threat of Russian missile and drone attacks.

The Department of Education and Science of the Kyiv City State Administration noted that parents will also be able to choose the format from the options offered by a specific school.

In particular, one scenario assumes that younger schoolchildren will be able to continue their in-person classes in shelters during the alert. Separate spaces for distance learning could be set up for middle and high school students.

At the same time, each school will determine the final model independently, taking into account the security situation, the number of students, and shelter options.

The Kyiv City State Administration also urged parents to discuss with their children before the start of the school year what to do during an air raid. In particular, schoolchildren should know where to go to shelter and what to do if an air raid occurs on their way to school.