Switzerland and Denmark may offer tips for successful return to school in B.C.

As B.C. approaches areturn to school in September, Switzerland and Denmarkmayoffer clues on how to keep schools open amid a pandemic.

The Ministry of Educationsays the European countries are among several they've studied to see how otherregionsare managing schools.

Switzerland, despite sharing a border with Northern Italy theformer epicentre ofEurope's coronavirus outbreak sent children back to class on May 11. Schools remainedopen until the end of the school year, nearly two months later.

Classrooms wereinitially split into two groups, explained Liam Printer, ateacher based in Switzerland and host of the podcast The Motivated Classroom.

Every day, one cohort attendedclass while the other students tuned in from home, and vice versa. After about two weeks, all children under the age of 15 or 16 began attending school every day.

• Masks will play a 'significant' role in B.C. schools in September: Education Minister

Meanwhile, older studentsreturned to class in smaller numbers on June 8,according to Switzerland's public broadcaster. However,some of those studentsopted to continue with distance education until the end of the school year.

Printer said the Swiss government did not requirestudents up to the age of about 16to physically distance, butadults and older teens were required to stay apart.

Though masks were not made mandatory,some Swiss cantons, or states,later introduced mask orders for older students.

Swiss cases declined afterreopening

Shops, restaurants,museums and libraries all reopened the same day as schools, but physical distancing and a five-person limit on public gatherings remained.

After relaxing rules in May, Switzerland saw its number of new COVID-19 cases level off, though cases have crept upsince early July when school ended.The country's number of deaths per million people now sits around 233, about 10 fewer than Canada.

Printer said the Swissgovernment also gaveindividual schools the authority to implement some of their own rules.

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The school where heteachesdecided to stagger start times for primary-aged children to avoid large groups of parents congregating at one time. And teachers and administratorstried to keep students of different age groups separate.

"But the reality is: they're children," Printer told Michelle Eliot, guest host of CBC'sThe Early Edition."Even if you've got two or three hundred students out at lunchtime and you're trying your best they're still going to interact and be around each other."

More learning outdoors

While the B.C. government has looked at Switzerland's model, it says it is paying closer attention to how similar-sized jurisdictions like New Zealand and Denmark are managing schools.

Jennifer Santos Olsen, a Canadian-born mother living in Denmark, sent her eight-year-old daughter back to school in late April.

"I was very nervous," the mother of two toldEarly Editionlisteners on Thursday.

But she said her concerns were alleviated when sheand other parents got a chance to speak to medical experts who explained why it's important for young children to quickly return to school.

A study from UNICEFCanadafound that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the lives of children and youth, citing disrupted routines andloss of education and other resources.

Besides sanitizing and distancing measures, Olsen said her daughter's class was splitinto three groups spread throughoutthe school. Masks are not mandatory, but teachers have taughtmore lessons outdoors, a practice the B.C. government will encourage when kids return to schools on Sept. 10.

• B.C. students will be back in class by Sept. 10

After partially reopening in April, cases in Denmark dropped. Though, like in Switzerland, infections have risen in recent weeks.

Last week, Olsen's13-year-old daughterreturned to class, much to the teenager's relief, despite the changes.

"It's a different reality now," Olsen said.