While the province released its guidance document on Tuesday about what schools should look like come September province-wide, families of students who will be attending in Simcoe County this fall will have to wait a bit longer to get their local details.
On Aug. 3, the province released its back-to-school guidance document called COVID-19: Health, Safety and Operational Guidance for Schools. The 29-page document is now being sent out to school boards across Ontario to help inform each board’s own September plans.
According to a release posted on the Simcoe County District School Board’s Facebook page, families can expect information on how the guidance will be applied to schools in the public board in the coming weeks.
Board chairperson and Orillia-Ramara-Severn trustee Jodi Lloyd said school boards, the media and the public all received the document at the same time on Tuesday afternoon, and there was a lot of information to digest.
“Many of the processes that were in place last year will be in place again this year: cohorting, masking for Grades 1 to 12, quadmesters for the high schools for the fall semester,” said Lloyd. “We still have to work through all the details.
“We don’t want to rush that process. We will be providing additional information to parents; I would anticipate that (happening) in the next week or two,” she added.
At the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, chairperson and Barrie trustee Joe Zerdin said the Catholic board is currently reviewing the memo.
“We will draft our board-specific plan over the next few weeks and communicate with our staff and families,” said Zerdin.
“Everyone at the board is excited to welcome our students back to classrooms in September, and will do everything needed to make that happen safely, following all guidelines put in place by our local health unit and the ministry,” he said. “Parents and students should continue to enjoy the remainder of the summer, and be confident that we are working on a plan for a safe return to school.”
According to the guidance document, the province is recommending extracurricular activities resume, relaxing rules on using shared spaces such as libraries and cafeterias, and continuing to require masks indoors for students in Grade 1 and up.
The plan places an emphasis on outdoor activities – allowing kids to play during recess with friends from other classes – and allowing shared materials again, such as toys in kindergarten.
Students will be attending in person for full days, five days a week, unless they have opted for remote learning.
Schools will mostly be relying on families to self-screen for symptoms of COVID-19 at home, but may have to do on-site confirmation of screening during periods when transmission might be higher, such as after a holiday. Rules on when students have to stay home have not yet been updated, but they are expected to change before September.
The plan says protocols may be rolled back over time, dependent on vaccination rates, but doesn't make shots mandatory for staff or students.
There is a section in the document regarding management of COVID-19 in schools, however the section indicates that the guidance on this subject is “forthcoming.”
“We’re still waiting on the province to release the outbreak management guidelines,” said Lloyd. “We don’t have those yet, so we can’t share that information.”
“It’s a significant part of the back-to-school (plan) as well,” she said.
According to CP, Education Minister Stephen Lecce will not be available to answer questions about the plan until Wednesday, when he is set to announce $25 million more in ventilation funding for standalone HEPA filter units.
— With files from Canadian Press
