Canadá/ October 28, 2020 / by By Jacquelyn LeBel / source: https://globalnews.ca

The Thames Valley District School Board says 985 students previously learning in person at the board’s schools will be moving to fully remote learning starting Nov. 16.

The original transition date was set for Nov. 2, but at a board meeting on Tuesday, education director Mark Fisher explained that the complexity of the operational impact and reorganization required means the board needs more time to prepare for the change.

“This work to reorganize and shift staff so that we have the required teachers has serious implications for our students, all staff, families and resources, all of which needs to be done while we are continuing to run a system emphasizing high-quality teaching and learning,” he said.

“Families can expect to receive more details in the coming days.”. Full remote learning has almost 10,000 students. Among high school students, roughly 21,000 attend on an adapted schedule while almost 3,000 are learning remotely only.

“Overall, this means we have approximately 85 per cent of our students attending bricks and mortar in person, while 15 per cent of our students are learning remotely. And these numbers do include all of the recent requests from families to change learning models.”

He also noted that the transitions between models creates a need for both students and teachers to move around to maintain class sizes.

“We are mindful of the concerns from families and staff about changes and potential disruptions. However, what we do know is that our students, staff and families want and need stability in their classrooms and learning environments moving forward. We are fully committed to doing everything we can to maintain this stability,” Fisher added.

“With this in mind, and based on our availability of resources, we may not always be in a position to allow for further requests to change the learning models moving forward. All extenuating circumstances and individual cases will be considered. However, any additional requests for changing models will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”