Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Local school boards are releasing more details on their return to in-class learning protocols ahead of the Sept. 3 start of school.
All school boards across the Kingston and Lennox and Addington region will be open for in-class learning, five days a week. Parents will have the option to opt into remote learning if they so choose. Teachers from each board will conduct the remote learning, which will follow a similar structure to what schools across the province did towards the end of last year when covid-19 first forced the closure of Ontario’s schools.
The Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) will be staggering start dates Kindergarten students. Each school will reach out to families with more information once their child is registered.
Catholic high schools will welcome Grade 9 students back on Sept. 3, as well as Grade 10-12 students in alternative programming. On Sept. 4 Grade 9 and 10 students will be welcome to attend school, as well as alternative programming students, followed by all students returning on Sept. 8.
The board says a staggered entry allows for more opportunity for Grade 9 and 10 students to become more familiar with the school.
High school students at both ALDCSB and the Limestone District School Board (LDSB) will have their semesters altered in favour of ‘quadmestering’. In essence, students will study two subjects a day rather than four. Secondary students will have their period one class in the morning followed by period three in the afternoon following a lunch break. That schedule will continue for 45 days, followed by an exam. After 47 days students will switch to period two class in the morning and their period four class in the afternoon.
ALCDSB says quadmestering allows for face-to-face instruction for all four periods in one semester, most closely resembles a typical school day with students in school all day and minimizes transitions and exposure to large amount of students.
Limestone will follow the same strategy.
“Consequently, we are working with public health and labour partners to finalize the secondary schedule utilizing a quadmester model,” wrote Krishna Burra, director of education for LDSB in a letter presented to school board trustees. “Quadmestering means students will likely only be working on two courses at a time for about 10 weeks, before switching to two new courses. This model will reduce student contacts.”
Prior to attending school each day, students and staff must self-screen for any illness. The board will provide a checklist for families and staff to serve as a guideline for screening.
School buses across the region will run at normal capacity and will be cleaned twice daily. Students in Grades 4-12 will be required to wear a mask when on a bus and all students will be required to sit in their assigned seats. Parents are instructed to follow physical distancing protocols when dropping off and picking up their kids at s bus stop.
Because physical distancing will not be possible in most schools, masks must be worn by students in Grades 4-12 and are strongly recommended by the board for all students, including Kindergarten to Grade 3.
All intramural and extracurricular sports have also been cancelled for elementary and secondary schools.
The ALDCSB is also asking parents to take part in an online survey for each child they will be sending to one of their schools to get feedback on any concerns they have about the return to school plan. The survey can be found at www.alcdsb.on.ca.
Burra said Limestone would hold off on conducting a survey until after they get an idea as to how many students will be opting for remote learning.
“Several other school boards have already moved forward with surveying families to determine their intent for the start of the 2020-2021 school year,” he wrote. “In Limestone, we have deliberately delayed putting the survey out so that we could provide more resources and information to support families in making an informed decision. We must be transparent with families regarding constraints in moving from one model to another in terms of timing, or in terms of the school with respect to attendance. In addition, the more students that opt out of returning to the classroom, the more significant the changes will be for staffing, and the less flexibility we will have to provide opportunities for families to move from one model to another. We of course want to maximize flexibility for families so they can make the best decision based on their circumstances, but there are significant constraints
that impact our ability to adjust staffing. The Limestone survey for families will be going out to families later this week with a relatively short turnaround time to allow for continued preparation. We will do our very best to provide flexibility moving forward.”
For more on Limestone’s return to school plan, visit www.limestone.on.ca.