Parents of local public school students will have more information on back to school plans on Thursday.
The Lambton Kent District School Board has prepared its final back to school strategy following consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Director of Education John Howitt says the detailed plan will be posted online at www.lkdsb.net and will be e-mailed to parents and guardians on file.
Howitt says the plan puts the health and safety of local students first.
“The plan will also highlight what the day looks like for students,” says the Director of Education. “Some of the expectations, some of the things to consider, including things that happen before students leave in the morning. The whole screening process, both for students and for staff is one of the key factors to mitigate any risk in the building.”
Howitt adds that families will be expected to do some screening before sending their kids off to school.
The Public board has also been notified that they will be able to hire additional staff members at Chatham-Kent elementary schools, as part of the back to school structure.
“We do elude to that in our document and I can share that we will be hiring additional staff for our elementary schools to assist with reducing the class size below class size regulations in collective agreement expectations,” adds Howitt.
The head of the public board is also encouraging parents and guardians to give the new plan a detailed look once it’s released.
“I would ask that they take the time to review the re-opening document,” he says. “It is quite detailed. Be in touch with the school if you have any questions. And indicate to the school before August 28th if they are going to changing their mind about whether they’re doing online learning versus face to face education.”
The reopening documents also give thorough details to the process of switching between online and in-class learning through the school year, as those changes may not be able to be accommodated immediately.
