Back to School during the pandemic ...a discussion thread

[OnceUponATime15]

It was frustrating to listen to CP24 this evening. They don't seem to talk about schools where the majority of students are not going back. There are other neighbouring schools with a very low percentage of students returning as well.

Out here as well. (DDSB) One of my childcare families, Mom & Dad are teachers.. Dad is a Secondary school Guidance Counselor, Mom was telling me yesterday that every day they get closer to the start date of school, more & more families are having a change of heart about in person classes and numbers are dropping dramatically. She was a JK teacher the past few years at a lower enrollment school, she has no idea what her assignment will end up being. She feels she has enough seniority to stay put.. but as the numbers drop so does her morale and her anxiety level rises.

When Doug Ford did his school tour this week and pronounced all was great... maybe he should have visited schools that were not staged for his “photo op”.

 

[tgropp]

If an outbreak happens and students are to stay at home, what would stop the teachers from reporting to school each day during their regular working hours and work from there? They could do their planning lessons and video calls from the school where all their resources are. There would be plenty of space to social distance from the other school personnel in the school during working hours. If there are 30 students in a classroom, Every student could get approximately 45 Minutes of video time a week

 

[mshanson3121]

I wonder where this is. The averages we’ve heard are 80% back, 20% online. Hadn’t really thought of the places outside the average. Must be areas with a lot of work from home or stay at home parents. Interesting.....

Here in NB there are no online options. Your options are enroll in school (which will be blended delivery for high school) or homeschool. That's it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Not necessarily. Split classes will help to maximize class sizes and eliminate teachers.

Yes. Last year my daughter’s grade had 2 full classes and a split. This year I’ve been told there is1 full class and 2 splits (5/6, full 6, 6/7). I’m not convinced class sizes will be much (if at all) smaller.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yes. Last year my daughter’s grade had 2 full classes and a split. This year I’ve been told there is1 full class and 2 splits (5/6, full 6, 6/7). I’m not convinced class sizes will be much (if at all) smaller.

Class sizes will be capped at a lower number if your child attends a school in a community that is deemed at risk for covid, otherwise it's really going to be business as usual and luck of the draw in terms of getting a smaller class size. As an example, the 2/3 split at my school only has 14 students in it. Quite low since the cap is 20. The other classes are much higher. And once parents get wind of a low class size, they may decide to re-register their child at the next opt in. Which may significantly boost the enrolment in the class with low enrolment......I'm not sure where your daughter goes, so this may not apply to you. I'm just talking about the TDSB.

 

[FigmentSpark]

New one that's come up... our HS has uniforms. The students who are in online classes (whether full or halftime) are to "dress appropriately for school", meaning, in uniform at home in front of their computer.

 

[quandrea]

New one that's come up... our HS has uniforms. The students who are in online classes (whether full or halftime) are to "dress appropriately for school", meaning, in uniform at home in front of their computer.

That’s ridiculous! And this is coming from someone who wore a uniform for 15 years in school. Again, they are taking everything good about online learning and throwing it out the window. Do these boards not have consultants?

 

[mshanson3121]

New one that's come up... our HS has uniforms. The students who are in online classes (whether full or halftime) are to "dress appropriately for school", meaning, in uniform at home in front of their computer.

Do they mean an actual physical uniform (do they have to wear one at school?) or just conform to dress codes? To be honest, I can kind of understand this one - if they're doing virtual classrooms where they can see each other, it makes sense that they would maintain the same dress code as in class.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

NS doesn't have online options either. In class or Homeschooling.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Class sizes will be capped at a lower number if your child attends a school in a community that is deemed at risk for covid, otherwise it's really going to be business as usual and luck of the draw in terms of getting a smaller class size. As an example, the 2/3 split at my school only has 14 students in it. Quite low since the cap is 20. The other classes are much higher. And once parents get wind of a low class size, they may decide to re-register their child at the next opt in. Which may significantly boost the enrolment in the class with low enrolment......I'm not sure where your daughter goes, so this may not apply to you. I'm just talking about the TDSB.

In Durham the Trustees voted to ensure 1M distancing in classes. This is not possible in most classrooms in my dd's school if class sizes are similar to what they were.

"A. The Board of Trustees passed a motion on August 12 to exceed the Ministry of Education’s guidance on physical distancing of students by: a) Ensuring all classes allow for the distancing of students, at a minimum of one metre as recommended in the guidance documents relied upon by the government for other aspects of its reopening plan; b) Authorizing the Director of Education to implement any and all measures that the Director may deem necessary and appropriate to best ensure a minimum of one-metre 7 spacing for students, including but not limited to measures such as reorganizing classes, providing portable classrooms, using common areas as classroom space, redeploying staff, hiring additional school staff, and such other measures as the Director may deem appropriate. "

 

[scrappinginontario]

We received a lot of information from the school this morning.
- no lockers or hooks, all items must stay with child
- indoor shoes not required. Children will stay in shoes they arrive at school wearing. will be reviewed when boot weather arrives.
- each class is to gather in a specific location. All school doors will be used for entrance and exit, not just a select few. These assigned locations are also used for recess. Children from different classes should not mingle at lunch or recess
- children may remove masks (if they choose to) during outdoor learning and recess
- Kiss n Ride will be available at our school but is discouraged. No teachers will be at Kiss n Ride and parents cannot exit their vehicles
- no dropping off of lunches, etc. Parents not allowed in school building. Call ahead if child needs to be picked up and arrangements will be made
- parents asked to drop off children as close to bell time as possible, not early
- Jr/Int students discouraged from leaving school property at lunch to frequent ff locations
- Covid health check should be done by parents at home each morning. It doesn't sound like anything about this is being done at the school

Not the 'warm, fuzzy' excitement it used to be returning to school but I greatly appreciate the care our school and board are taking to ensure our children are as safe as possible during these uncertain times.

 

[bankr63]

If an outbreak happens and students are to stay at home, what would stop the teachers from reporting to school each day during their regular working hours and work from there? They could do their planning lessons and video calls from the school where all their resources are. There would be plenty of space to social distance from the other school personnel in the school during working hours. If there are 30 students in a classroom, Every student could get approximately 45 Minutes of video time a week

Public Health.
In March, schools were closed and teachers were not allowed to enter the buildings. Since DW did not bring her Chromebook home for the break (we left for vacation directly from school on Friday) there was a bit of scrambling to get her setup here. It was several weeks before teachers were allowed back to the classrooms, one at a time, for maybe an hour each to collect their resources. If PH decides that schools are fully closed then teachers will again be restricted from entering, but it might be different.
There really aren't much in the way of resources in the classroom that will help with online learning. Kind of hard to hand out math manipulatives over the internet. The actual materials are all electronic now so accessible, but the problem was they were not in a format that lent itself to online. A word document with math problems that a teacher would normally print out needed transformation to a fillable form that could be shared with everyone in the class. There was a ton of prep work. Her internet connection from home is MUCH better (faster and reliable) than the connections provided through the board's network.
For this year, DW will bring her work resources home EVERY night, just in case there is declared outbreak at her school before next morning. If she can work from school, she will, but it would actually be safer for her to stay at home. Why drive across the city and interact with several people so you can sit in an empty classroom when you can stay safe at home and lower the transmission risk? The employment contract does stipulate that teachers should be on board property when working though, so the board will probably insist on teachers being at school unless PH says otherwise.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Do they mean an actual physical uniform (do they have to wear one at school?) or just conform to dress codes? To be honest, I can kind of understand this one - if they're doing virtual classrooms where they can see each other, it makes sense that they would maintain the same dress code as in class.

My understanding is the uniform is required. Certainly, making sure you're dressed and ready for school is one thing, but to make sure you have your uniform on (at least the top) seems a bit hard to police.

 

[tgropp]

Public Health.
In March, schools were closed and teachers were not allowed to enter the buildings. Since DW did not bring her Chromebook home for the break (we left for vacation directly from school on Friday) there was a bit of scrambling to get her setup here. It was several weeks before teachers were allowed back to the classrooms, one at a time, for maybe an hour each to collect their resources. If PH decides that schools are fully closed then teachers will again be restricted from entering, but it might be different.
There really aren't much in the way of resources in the classroom that will help with online learning. Kind of hard to hand out math manipulatives over the internet. The actual materials are all electronic now so accessible, but the problem was they were not in a format that lent itself to online. A word document with math problems that a teacher would normally print out needed transformation to a fillable form that could be shared with everyone in the class. There was a ton of prep work. Her internet connection from home is MUCH better (faster and reliable) than the connections provided through the board's network.
For this year, DW will bring her work resources home EVERY night, just in case there is declared outbreak at her school before next morning. If she can work from school, she will, but it would actually be safer for her to stay at home. Why drive across the city and interact with several people so you can sit in an empty classroom when you can stay safe at home and lower the transmission risk? The employment contract does stipulate that teachers should be on board property when working though, so the board will probably insist on teachers being at school unless PH says otherwise.

We have many custodians with extra hired to do the cleaning to make it safe. Hospitals, retirement homes, grocery stores and other essential places of employment answered the bell....no questions asked. The teachers have their resources at their school. There is no reason on why they cannot go To their school when everyone else in higher risk areas Manage to do that. I would hope that 90% of the teachers will be glad to do this.

 

[Madame]

We have many custodians with extra hired to do the cleaning to make it safe. Hospitals, retirement homes, grocery stores and other essential places of employment answered the bell....no questions asked. The teachers have their resources at their school. There is no reason on why they cannot go To their school when everyone else in higher risk areas Manage to do that. I would hope that 90% of the teachers will be glad to do this.

But what in the world is the POINT??? If a teacher is online, who cares where they work from? My husband is in my basement until Jan working. He can go in every other week for a set time if he wants. If a job can be done at home, why wouldn’t it be? Maybe I am missing something.

 

[Debbie]

. . . We have many custodians with extra hired to do the cleaning to make it safe. . .

I think that I will wait to see exactly how many extra custodians are actually available for cleaning-especially in places that aren't in the GTA. My daughter's custodian has told the staff to send all requests to the night custodian. That's not going to work for cleaning tables/desks after lunch.

 

[tgropp]

But what in the world is the POINT??? If a teacher is online, who cares where they work from? My husband is in my basement until Jan working. He can go in every other week for a set time if he wants. If a job can be done at home, why wouldn’t it be? Maybe I am missing something.

Teachers resources are in the school, not in their homes. That is my point. If no one is in the schools I am sure that there will be cutbacks and layoffs. I am sure that the union would not want that. Just why would a teacher not want to go where they work when it is safe. There must be some reason. As A Taxpayer it is a very reasonable question. It is not asking for much.

 

[Madame]

Teachers resources are in the school, not in their homes. That is my point. If no one is in the schools I am sure that there will be cutbacks and layoffs. I am sure that the union would not want that. Just why would a teacher not want to go where they work when it is safe. There must be some reason. As A Taxpayer it is a very reasonable question. It is not asking for much.

For online teaching?!? No. No they’re not at the school.

 

[Disneylover99]

Teachers resources are in the school, not in their homes. That is my point. If no one is in the schools I am sure that there will be cutbacks and layoffs. I am sure that the union would not want that. Just why would a teacher not want to go where they work when it is safe. There must be some reason. As A Taxpayer it is a very reasonable question. It is not asking for much.

Nobody knows who will be teaching remotely or in class at this point at my school, but I can tell you that everyone on staff would be happy if they could teach online at school where all their resources are. But as far as I know, we’re being told that it’s not allowed.

 

[tgropp]

Nobody knows who will be teaching remotely or in class at this point at my school, but I can tell you that everyone on staff would be happy if they could teach online at school where all their resources are. But as far as I know, we’re being told that it’s not allowed.

Thank You for clarifying that.