Toronto District School Board’s plan for a return to in-person classes in the fall of 2021

BY PAUL JUNOR

There is no doubt that the current school year has been very challenging for the largest school board in Canada. With a population of  246,000 students in 583 schools, it has tried to ensure that there was equitable programming for all its students.

Ryan Bird told the Toronto Star on March 4^th, 2021, that, “The ministry asked school boards to plan for no COVID-19 related funding at the time, meaning that we will plan for in-person learning. The TDSB recognizes that this will depend on the status of the pandemic and advice of public health officials.”

He reveals that currently, the TDSB is in the process of making preparations to ensure that it is able to accommodate students who opt for remote virtual learning, as well in-person learning. Bird told 680 News that currently, 160,000 students are obtaining in-person schooling compared to 80,000 who are learning virtually.

The Toronto Star revealed that other boards are providing parents with the options to choose either virtual schooling or In-person learning, but without the possibility of switching. There are still many uncertainties regarding  details around the COVID-19 rollout plans and the transmission of variants within school settings.

The TDSB revealed an update from the Minister of Education on Friday, March 5^th, 2021, regarding the Ontario government’s plans for vaccinations for education workers and child care workers. It states, “The province, which continues to expand capacity and ramp up efforts under the phased roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan has now announced that they are moving forward with Phase Two of this plan, which includes education and care workers. Phase Two focuses on vaccinating populations based on age and risk. It is expected to begin in April and be completed by the end of July. Vaccine prioritization for education and child care workers will commence with those who work directly with children in both schools and licensed childcare settings.”

Education workers include bus drivers who transport students.”There is much work that the TDSB has to do within the next  six months before the 2021- 2022  school year starts,” Trustees Shelly Laskin and Parthi Kandavel told the Toronto Star.

As a result of the committee meeting that was held on March 2^nd, 2021 to discuss finance, budget, and enrollment matters it is understood that elementary students will be expected for in-person learning. Laskin states, “We seriously have no idea right now about vaccine rollout and what that’s going to mean. No vaccines have yet been approved for children under 16.”

Trustee Kandavel indicates that a final decision will not be made until April in order to ensure that education stakeholders are able to prepare in advance especially to ensure that the remote learning option is equitably administered.

She states, “We know COVID-19 hot spots are in lower socio-economic neighborhoods, so being able to adapt to the concerns of parents in those areas is very important.”

One of the challenges for the TDSB will be the amount of  funding. At present, funds are accessed through grants such as the Grants for Students Need (GSN) and Priorities and Partnership Fund. The Ministry of Education sent an email to school boards in February which indicated that school boards should anticipate laying off thousands of frontline workers in the coming school year.