Last Chance To Change Your Child's Back To School Plans

Thursday, 27 August 2020 at 05:41

Parents and guardians have until August 28th to let the Thames Valley District School Board know if you plan on changing your decision for back to school.

OXFORD COUNTY - The Thames Valley District School Board made some major changes in their return to learn plan for students heading back to class this fall.

With this in mind they are telling parents and guardians you have until August 28th to inform your school if you plan on changing learning models. Essentially this means if you were planning to send your kid to school in person and now want them to learn from home online, you have until the 28th to let the school know.

The changes include pushing back the start date for the school year until September 14th and face coverings are now mandatory for all students starting in junior kindergarten. The board did acknowledge that the face covering mandate is not really enforceable for some of the youngest students, however they will be strongly encouraged to do so.

Elementary students will be permitted to change models on November 2, 2020 and February 8, 2021. These dates align with the Ontario Elementary Reporting Periods. Families wishing to change models November 2, 2020 must make the request to their principals by October 16, 2020, or by January 22, 2021, to start a new model February 8, 2021.

Secondary students will be permitted to change models on February 4, 2021. This date was determined to align with the Ontario Secondary Reporting Period (end of Semester 1). Families wishing their students to change models February 4, 2021, must request the change with their school by January 15, 2021.

An overwhelming number of parents and guardians responded to Thames Valley’s request to confirm whether their children would attend school in-person or participate in full remote learning at home in September.

Parents and guardians of 95 five per cent of Thames Valley’s 82,000 students responded to the return to school confirmation survey. Education Director Mark Fischer says the response from parents and guardians is believed to be the highest response rate among large Ontario school boards

"We are grateful for the outstanding cooperation from parents and guardians to help the Board plan for the return to school in September. The response was exceptional."

The results mean about 65,000 students will be returning to in-person learning, while more than 12,000 students will participate in full remote learning.

You can read more about the return to learn plan from TVDSB online here.