Education officials in northwestern Ontario say they’re happy to have more information about how the province plans to direct, and support school boards as they prepare for the fall, but there are still plenty of details to be worked out.
On Thursday, the province announced its back to school plan, which included a promise of additional funding for things like cleaning and safety supplies, and mental health supports.
“I am definitely pleased to see that there’s actual funding for such things as masks, hand sanitizer and soap in the schools, and PPE for staff,” said Ellen Chambers, chair of the Lakehead District School Board, “because that was a very big question that needed to be answered.”
The plan also revealed that school boards in northwestern Ontario will be allowed to resume full-time classroom learning at both the elementary and secondary levels in the fall.
High schools to limit in-person classes
Chambers said she would have liked to have seen even more direction from the province about how schooldays should be structured, but expects more details will emerge shortly, as school boards work with the province to finalize their individual plans.
There are still significant logistics to be worked out, especially at the secondary school level, said Sherri-Lynne Pharand, the director of education with the Keewatin Patricia District School Board, who also said she was happy to learn that students will be able to return to a “conventional” in-class model.
“We really miss them, and we miss their families. And we’re really glad that we will be able to get back to school.”
However, one of the biggest challenges will be limiting points-of-contact for high school students.
“So right now in a regular secondary model there are four consecutive classes with kids that change periods every 72 minutes” she said. “So by the end of the day, you have come into contact with a lot of different people, so we need to limit that number.”
In order to meet the provincial requirements for number of contacts, students will be able to take no more than two in-person classes at a time, she said. One possible way to do that could be to break the year into four semesters, instead of two, with two classes per semester, she explained.
Boards will be consulting with the ministry shortly to finalize details, she added, before sharing them with students and families.
