The Halton District School Board is working on their reopening plan to reveal to parents on August 10th.
As previously reported, families will be able to choose from sending their children to school in cohort groups of 15 alternate days or alternate weeks with an online learning element, a full return with protocols in place that keep students within their groups or distance learning.
Those choosing the distance learning route will have to commit to a full term of that learning format.
Halton District School Board Superintendent of Education, Terri Blackwell, explains the reason why they haven’t surveyed families yet.
At time of writing, she says there has been no direction by public health officials to require staff or students to wear a mask as schools fall under provincial jurisdiction not municipal.
However Blackwell adds that if students or staff want to wear a mask they can and that PPE will be provided to staff working with students who need close care.
When asked how teachers feel about the online model, she says they are going to be prepared as the board has to prepare for the possibility of a second wave.
Blackwell adds that that there are some learning programs for elementary students that are being offered right now that have been getting great reviews.
She says that this type of programming allows for a combination of face to face and learning activities for students to do, making the program more robust than what families were given in March.
Blackwell says they have been consulting with the ministry and public health officials weekly while they work on creating a plan that is safe for everyone involved.
The Halton School Board has also sent a letter to the Minister of Education urging him to drop the mixed model as a possibility for this fall.
They said that, a model that relies on alternating a student’s time between the classroom and out-of-school childcare creates opportunities for mixing students from different settings (e.g. classrooms, schools, school boards) and as a result increases their exposures and elevates students’ risk of infection.
