Final review of elementary waitlist on April 1, 2021
March 12, 2021
The Upper Grand District School Board will conduct one final review of the waitlist for families wishing to switch between the Elementary Remote School and in-person learning on April 1, 2021. After April 1, students will be required to remain in their current learning mode for the remainder of the school year.
Background
Throughout the 2020-21 school year, parents/guardians have had the opportunity to have their child move between elementary Brick and Mortar (B&M) schools and the Elementary Remote School (ERS) through several processes. In August, September and most recently on November 30, 2020, the UGDSB offered parents the option to make a formal switch between learning modes.
For these formal shifts, a whole-system reorganization occurred in which some B&M schools required many students to be placed with a new teacher. Other students had multiple teachers throughout the fall, due to various shifting staffing needs throughout the system. As a result of these reorganizations, we have heard clearly from our school communities and stakeholders that this process was disruptive to both students and staff, and significantly impacted the relationships that had been established with students and their teachers. The resulting moves also added another layer of difficulty for teachers attempting to adequately assess students who had moved between classes and learning environments (e.g. in some cases, students were only with their ‘new’ teacher for a short time prior to a reporting period).
In order to address these concerns, the board adopted a monthly review of a waitlist for students wishing to enter the ERS, and considered moves to elementary B&M schools on a case-by-case basis.
Final Review of the Waitlist – April 1, 2021
Should the number of families interested in returning to B&M schools continue to increase throughout the spring months, there is the potential of significant increases to the numbers of students per class, exceeding our capacity to accommodate students and impacting our COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
To ensure student numbers in our classrooms remain as safe as possible and respect our elementary class-size caps, we will only be reviewing waitlist requests once more in April for those families wishing to switch learning modes.
Deadlines and timelines
- Families wishing to get on the waitlist must register by March 31.
- Staff will conduct a final review of the waitlist for families wishing to switch between ERS and B&M schools on April 1, 2021. Please note that being on the waitlist does not guarantee a change to either the ERS or B&M school.
- The first day of classes for students who are permitted to switch learning modes will be Tuesday April 6, 2021.
- After April 1, students will be required to remain in their current learning model for the remainder of the school year.
- The board will provide information on the availability of a remote school option for September 2021 in the coming months.
How parents can request a switch in learning modes
- Those families wishing to switch to the Elementary Remote School (ERS) must fill out the following Google Form by March 31: http://ow.ly/UWA950DWdSi. Students will be placed in remote learning if possible.
- Those families wishing to switch to in-person learning in their home school are to contact the principal of their physical in-person school and request to be placed in school if possible.
*NOTE: Parents should be aware that at this point in time, UGDSB elementary classrooms are full or nearing capacity, so there is a very real possibility that requests to switch learning modes will not be granted due to lack of space and the requirement to adhere to our COVID-19 health and safety protocols.