THUNDER BAY – Neither Ian MacRae nor Pino Tassone can say with concrete certainty what the upcoming school year will look like.
But the two educators are both holding out hope students will be able to return to the classroom on a full-time basis.
MacRae, the director of education at the Lakehead Public District School Board, and Tassone, his counterpart at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, said they likely won’t have a clearer picture on the 2020-21 school year until after speaking with ministry of education staff later this month.
As a precursor, the two boards on Friday launched a return to school survey asking parents for input as the plans for the fall semester are finalized.
“Obviously we’re hoping for a maximum return on the survey. The information will be vital for the planning for the different circumstances that could occur, regardless of which model we end up going with in September,” MacRae said.
“There are nuances to each that the more people that respond, the more accurate we can be in determining everything from busing to class sizes to the nature of the delivery of the curriculum, especially if it’s a blended model and we have to go back to the online learning.”
According to the ministry of education, boards are being asked to prepare for three separate models for the upcoming school year.
The first is a normal school day, with enhanced public health protocols. The second is a modified school day with smaller class sizes, cohorting and either alternative day or week delivery. Finally, there’s at-home learning, which is what students were faced with from March until June when the province closed schools because of COVID-19 fears.
MacRae said the survey, which his board is calling mandatory, will be a guide, but only a guide.
“(The survey) will certainly be a factor in the recommendations we make to the ministry, but it won’t determine what we think will be the best model for our students,” MacRae said.
“We would never suggest a model that will put students in jeopardy and we’ve said from the outset, all our decisions are based on the safety and well-being of students and staff and all the policies and procedures from managing potential outbreaks to students and staff wearing masks on a daily basis in the classroom will all be considered.
Tassone said the survey will also give both board an idea of how many parents want their students studying in the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom. The province has said the return to schools will be voluntary and based on parent choice, and will be an option as long as public health requirements are in place for adapted delivery of education.
“It will help us determine how many students may not be coming to schools, so we’ll have to prepare for programming in a remote phase, if they do not attend,” Tassone said. “That will require quite a bit of work and planning between now and September.”
Survey responses are due by July 24. Parents must give both their name and their students name to take the questionnaire and separate surveys are required for each individual student.
The Catholic Board survey can be found here.
The Public Board survey can be found here.
