Officials with the Lakehead Public Schools are feeling good about the upcoming school year.

Director of Education Ian MacRae says they’ve gotten ready for in-person classes with safety improvements like upgrading ventilation.

“It’s a difficult task when you’re dealing with schools that are built over a range of years, but we’ve done the best we could over the time period, and we think we’re ready,” he says. Construction work is ongoing at several schools, which he says will continue until just before the first day of school.

MacRae says most students are registered to attend school in-person. Just two per cent of elementary students and around three percent of secondary students will start the year online.

“I think the Toronto board was happy when they were at about 14% remote learners, and we’re certainly much better than that,” he explains.

Classes get back in session Tuesday September 7th, and students will still need to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms.