Adhering to provincial guidelines, the UCDSB is set to temporarily close its schools and transition to a school-board-wide remote learning model following the holiday break.

In a continued effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Ontario Government announced on Monday afternoon that a province-wide lockdown will begin for a 28-day period across Eastern Ontario beginning on Dec. 26, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the lockdown announcement and outlined that school closures will be extended beyond the winter break. Students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 will complete remote learning from home from Jan. 4 to 8 with plans to return to in-class instruction on Jan. 11, 2021. Meanwhile, high school students will complete remote learning from Jan. 4 to Jan. 22, with plans to return to in-class instruction on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021.

During this period, childcare centres will remain open. Staff will need to consult with local Community Service Managers given provincial direction that prioritizes access to these spaces for Frontline Services workers. It is anticipated that daycares will be providing their own updates to their clients in the near future.

“Although we just learned of this information today, the UCDSB has been proactively planning and connecting regularly with public health officials who are carefully monitoring the status of COVID-19 in our region. We fully appreciate that an order to close schools throughout Ontario is a significant step in an overall provincial strategy by the Minister of Education to address our concerns about this public health issue and to keep us safe,” says UCDSB Director of Education Stephen Sliwa.

In general, some operational directions that we can confirm, which will guide and direct the re-start of school programs on January 4, includes:

• Before the winter holiday break, staff and students were encouraged to bring home their learning resources and technology devices should the province enforce school closures. Because of our Remote Readiness Plan already set in place, the UCDSB will implement remote learning using either the Microsoft Teams to D2L platforms, and;
• As we near the start-up for school programs to begin on January 4, school principals & vice-principals will connect with teachers on the planned roll-out for remote learning and communicate with families and students accordingly.

“We will continue the necessary behind-the-scenes work that will be required to welcome students to remote learning as we start the New Year,” says UCDSB Chair of the Board John McAllister. “Families and students connected to the UCDSB can expect further updates as we move closer to the January start-up.”

To read the full province-wide lockdown report, read the Province of Ontario’s announcement.

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