Rainbow School Board parents must decide by next week if their kids will do in-class learning

Parents whose children attend a school within Sudbury's Rainbow District School Board must let the board know by next week if their kids will be going back to class or will be learning at home.

On Tuesday, the board released its reopening plan for schools this fall. The board says as directed by the Ministry of Education it will reopen for in-class instruction at both elementary and secondary schools. The plan includes"enhanced health and safety protocols with input from public health."

There will bea focus on screening of COVID-19, increased hand washing, physical distancing, the use of masks for some students, as well as more cleaning and disinfecting.

Desks will be spaced out in classrooms for as much room as possible between students.

"What we're trying to do is implement all of the safeguards that are necessary to ensure, when our children come back to school, that parents are confident their kids are in a safe environment," Norm Blaseg, the director of education for the board said.

He says at the elementary level, classes will resume in person, five days a week. Students will be divided into groups, or cohorts, with whom they will spend their days, including recess and lunch.

"We're trying to limit the student-to-student contact throughout the day and throughout the week," he said.

Instead of students moving from class to class, the teachers will come to them.

"There's always a risk, no matter what we do," he said. "From the ministry's perspective, that is one of the ways we have to address student contact throughout the day."

As for masks, they will be mandatory for students in Grades 4 and up.

In secondary schools, the timetables are being changed for students, Blaseg says. Students will take two classes throughout the day that are 150 minutes long. They'll take two subjects one week, then two different ones the next and continue to rotate on that schedule.

As for what happens if someone in the school tests positive for COVID-19, Blaseg says they'll work closely with public health.

"Typically if someone has been identified, they will have to be treated, and there will be a 14-day quarantine. They would have to test negative to return," he said.

If parents choose not to send their children back to school, they will be expected to attend school full time online. The board says there will be "access to learning materials posted online as well as [other]learning opportunities throughout the day."

Attendance will be taken online daily.

The board says "technology" will be provided as required for distance learning.

Parents have until Friday, Aug. 21 to inform the board whether they will be sending their children to school or doing online learning. The board cautions "the earliest time students who opt for distance learning can reintegrate into face to face instruction will be at mid-term in November."