OCDSB votes for full-time return to classroom this fall

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) wants kids back in the classroom five days a week this fall.

At a meeting Friday morning that was carried over from the previous evening, trustees voted unanimously to recommend to the provincial governmentthat students return to full-time instruction in September.

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That echoes the advice of Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, who told the board Thursday evening she, too, wants to see students back in the classroom full time.

"We heard loud and clear from the community that what is needed the most is a full-time return to school for all of our students," OCDSB chair Lynn Scott said Friday.

"The amendments make our position very clear, and I will be pleased to write a letter that makes that very obvious to the minister and to the premier."

No 'business as usual'

The board is still askingstaff to begin work on the three different back-to-school scenarios laid out by Education Minister Stephen Lecce last month: one for a full return to the classroom, one for continuing online learning and one for a hybrid model.

The board's director of education, Camille Williams-Taylor, warned that even with a full return, things will be different in the fall.

"We do not anticipate that with additional measures being taken for safety that we will be returning to business as usual," Williams-Taylor said. "There will be aspects of the instructional day that will look differently, that will need to be amended to ensure the safe return of everyone."

The Ottawa Catholic School Board is also calling for a return to five-day classroom instruction in the fall.

The education minister is expected to announcea decision by August 4.