Back-to-school for public school students in Simcoe County will be staggered and most families have chosen to send their kids back to the classroom.
The Simcoe County District School Board said on Thursday it had completed surveys for 86 per cent of its student population which represents about 43,060 students. Of those, 15 per cent of students will be learning virtually.
Dawn Stephens, Superintendent of Education, said they have the option to set up a virtual school. She said there will be clustering of students from multiple schools if they have opted for remote learning. How that will be done is still being fine-tuned. Stevens said they have to look at whether they create a virtual school or whether they create a class at one particular school.
"We really want to keep our students attached to their home school. At the end of the day we really want students to be back in their home schools."
Stephens reminded parents that if their child will be learning online they will be locked in until the end of term one, which is the beginning of February. To make the switch, the board has to reorganize schools and they can't do that over and over in the school year.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and so many new rules for students and staff, the board has opted for a staggered entry to the new school year. At the elementary level, from kindergarten to Grade 8, students will begin based on their surname in alphabetical order.
- Tuesday, September 8, students with surnames A to G
- Wednesday, September 9, students with surnames H to O will join students with the surnames A to G
- Thursday, September 10, all students in class
- Junior kindergarten students will begin attendance on Thursday, September 10 as previously planned and communicated with parents/guardians
When high school students return to class will be done based on their grade level.
- Tuesday, September 8, grade 9 only
- Wednesday, September 10, grade 9 and 10 only
- Thursday, September 11, all students in class
