There have been online whispers that after winter break schools might switch all classes to virtual (as opposed to in-person or hybrid), due to COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Ontario’s education minister and deputy minister made a recommendation that students and educators be ready ahead of time by bringing home important documents, textbooks, or whatever else they might need if schools move to remote learning after the winter break.
Stephen Lecce and Nancy Naylor, in the memo sent to Ontario school boards, said, “Our chief medical officer of health has confirmed that the transmission of COVID-19 in schools has remained low… however, the public health environment in Ontario continues to evolve rapidly.”
They added, “As a reminder, we are recommending that boards encourage students and staff to take home any materials that they may require for remote learning before they leave school for the holiday period so that we can continue to be ready for all scenarios.”
The document doesn’t say one way or another if any boards will be directed by the ministry to move online.
There have been nearly two dozen schools across the Province of Ontario that were shut down because of COVID-19.
As of this writing, Peel District School Board has not made a statement.