COVID-19 Fall 2021 Updates

COVID-19 Fall 2021 Updates

August 31/2021
With the safety of students and staff at the forefront, we have followed provincial direction and school feedback to shape how the new school year looks with regards to COVID-19 at Inner City High School.  Although the situation with COVID-19 is fluid, we expect the following basic safety procedures and preventions to be adhered to. These include:

  • asking all visitors to the school a health questionnaire,

  • encouraging hand washing.

  • providing hand sanitizer.

  • maintaining enhanced cleaning and disinfecting routines throughout the school.

  • asking all students and staff to monitor their health and isolate if symptoms present.

  • mask wearing is currently optional but may be required based on circumstances and situational developments around public health measures.

  • encouraging physical distancing, where possible.

  • maintaining enhanced cleaning and disinfecting routines throughout the school.

  • encouraging COVID-19 vaccination.

To support these efforts, a digital sign is now located next to the elevator on the school’s main floor. All visitors will be presented with up-to-date information on our COVID-19 status upon their arrival.

We based these measures on what is known about COVID-19 right now, including information about the highly-transmissible variants of concern. At any point during the school year, the province could change the required health measures for schools across Alberta, schools in a particular region, or individual schools and classrooms. We will revisit these measures throughout the year as required.

Thanks to all in our school community for actively working to curb the spread of coronavirus. Your diligence keeps us all healthy.

October 7/2021

Following a request by the Alberta government to all independent school boards, our Board has approved a new policy that all staff and all adult visitors to our school must be vaccinated or show a negative test result taken within 72 hours to gain access to the facility.

Staff have until Oct 12/2021 to provide vaccination documentation. All adult visitors will be asked to provide vaccination or testing status upon school entry.

Posted on August 31, 2021 and filed under School.

2021 ICYDA February Update

Now Eleven Months of Pandemic


Staff preparing a lunch delivery in December.

Staff preparing a lunch delivery in December.

Eleven months have passed from the start of the pandemic. Almost a year later, we are still here, adjusting to delivering services for marginalized urban Indigenous and other youth within the new framework of COVID-19. While we had prepared for many contingencies, a global pandemic was not something we had ever thought we would face. Safety and flexibility have been at the center of our decisions and processes. We are not operating like normal, but we’re ‘more normal’ than we were last spring.

Staff dropping off food and homework and providing informal counselling in parking lot.

Staff dropping off food and homework and providing informal counselling in parking lot.

Last March we quickly took our whole operation online, with a small core of administrative and support staff maintaining outreach operations on site. Some youth worked online; others did not have the necessary technology. For those students, paper assignments were delivered. Social workers dropped off lunches to students and provided informal counselling in hallways and doorsteps across Edmonton. Often extra meals were provided for other family members.

We delivered and picked up paper assignments along with a hot meal, and often sent extra meals for other family members.

In September, we resumed in-school services with a strengthened online school platform. Since then, we provide essential supports, such as informal counselling, a food bank, transportation help, and other youth support programming to youth both on and off-site. High school courses are part of this mix of services. Lunches and snacks are delivered to small cohorts throughout the building and to those off-site. Our wraparound services include an on-site Elder three days a week and other cultural supports. Throughout, we’ve adhered to and maintained strict COVID-19 health protocols.

We want to extend our sincere thanks to all our donors and supporters for your contributions and support. Your donations provide life-changing assistance to Edmonton’s marginalized urban Indigenous and other youth by way of our unique programming. 

If you haven’t followed us already, you can connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Be safe and stay well,

Joe Cloutier,
Chief Operating Officer and Founder

Posted on February 16, 2021 and filed under Community Update.