The Upper Canada District School Board has confirmed the school district will adopt a staggered start strategy.
In a letter on the board’s website from Director of Education Stephen Sliwa, it says schools will welcome students back in small clusters, starting on September 11th, rather than everyone starting on September 4th.
“This will allow different grades or groups of students to return to school on different days, so students and staff can become more comfortable with new routines and health and safety practices.”
The letter outlines how this will work:
“For Kindergarten to Grade 8: Students with surnames A-G will start on September 11 and continue, surnames H-P will start on September 14 and continue, surnames Q-Z will start on September 15 and continue. This will have all our students in class by September 15.
For Grade 9-12: Students in Grade 9 will start on September 11 and continue, students in Grade 10 will start on September 14 and continue, students in Grade 11 and Grade 12 will start on September 15 and continue. This will have all our secondary students in class by September 15.”
From September 4th to September 10th, teachers will be checking in with virtual learners and finalizing school routines, according to Sliwa.
Sliwa also says yesterday staff made several adjustments to the remote learning model for the school district and presented this at a meeting last night with the UCDSB Board of Trustees. Sliwa says the new model has flexibility that families want and will allow the school district to better manage staffing needs. Sliwa outlined the general nature of the Remote Learning program and the choices within it:
| Remote Learning Option | Key Factors | How learning takes place |
| Remote Synchronous (Digital learning, in real-time, from home) |
|
Instruction is provided through the local school and the child’s classroom teacher, through a live video stream. |
| Remote Asynchronous: Digital (Digital learning, not in real time, from home) |
Digital access (email, phone, etc.) to a teacher during scheduled times and by appointment. |
Instruction and support provided by District staff on assignment with the UCDSB Virtual School. |
| Remote Asynchronous: Non-Digital (Learning is completely offline, at home, using print materials) |
Printed booklets for students to complete and return to a Virtual School teacher. | Instruction and support provided by District staff with the UCDSB Virtual School. |
(Supplied by the UCDSB)
Sliwa says if families change their decision about whether they want their children to attend in person after the start of school, their requests for a change will be addressed as soon as possible. They are asking families to be patient because time will be required to develop transition plans from one form of learning to another. They need to adhere to the Ministry of Education and Public Health guidelines that support student and staff health, safety and well-being. Secondary students returning to in-person learning may be limited to new quadmester based on course availability and enrollment, according to Sliwa.
Sliwa explains they need to have the right number of staff in place in classrooms and available for remote learning as part of their essential preparation for the start school. If this new information changes the decision you made on your Confirmation of Attendance form, it’s important they hear from parents/guardians. If you did not fill out the form and want your child in remote learning, contact your school by tomorrow (Friday, August 28) at noon so they can make sure your child is in the preferred learning model for September.
Right now you do not need to indicate what specific option of remote learning you want to participate in. Next week, the board will follow up with remote learning students through email to get these details.
Sliwa says these updates will be part of their revised Return to School Guide, that was originally published on August 14th. They appreciate continued patience as they work through this unique set of circumstances for the start-up of this new school year.
For updates from the UCDSB, visit their website here.