The Toronto District School Board says the province has given it the "green light" for its revised reopening proposal that would see high school students in school every other day this fall.
Interim Director of Education Carlene Jackson said during a board meeting on Tuesday evening that she met with Education Minister Stephen Lecce and his deputy earlier this week "where we did get the green light and the go-ahead on this model so we are good to go on this secondary model." This comes after the province <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/08/15/toronto-school-board-pitch-for-smaller-class-sizes-strikes-out-back-to-the-drawing-board.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rejected</a> the board's initial proposals that included hiring more teachers to reduce elementary class sizes, but shortening the day for students.
"We thought that our previous models met all the parameters and stipulations that we were given, but ... we have been directed to refine them and that’s what we’ve done," Jim Spyropoulos, executive superintendent of human rights and Indigenous education, told TDSB trustees. "We’ve come back with a model that we think meets all the criteria that we’ve been given."
<img class="wp-image-376607 size-large aligncenter" src="https://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM-843x438.png" alt="" width="843" height="438" srcset="https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM-843x438.png 843w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM-405x210.png 405w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM-768x399.png 768w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM-1536x798.png 1536w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-5.51.22-PM.png 2006w" sizes="(max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px" />
The new model, under a quadmester system, would run on a four-day schedule that repeats itself on the fifth day. If a class of 30 were split into two cohorts of 15, a student in the first cohort would spend the morning in school and then continue with synchronous, or live virtual learning, at home in the afternoon. A student in the second cohort would spend the morning doing asynchronous or independent learning and then live virtual learning in the afternoon.
There would be a 90-minute lunch break, which Spyropoulos said would give students time to get home, have their lunch and prepare for their afternoon class. It would also give teachers the chance to contact parents and work on student success initiatives.
Spyropoulos said the previous model was "more dense" and had an additional period.
"That period created a scenario where the most amount of time a student could have in school ... was approximately 25 per cent; however, this model takes us closer to 40 per cent," he said.
Spyropoulos said the best time for students to switch between in-person and remote learning would be at the end of a quadmester because consistency between a teacher and student allow enable the teacher to assess the student's progress.
"If a student is exiting and entering back and forth then we’re not going to have that level of assessment and in many cases, we could have students who now are going on to eight, nine, 10 months a year without having been formally assessed as the gaps in their learning continue to accumulate," he said, adding however that if a family needs to make a switch for a particular reason they should contact the school.
Board staff also outlined three different elementary school models that aim to reduce class sizes. Each of the models would include the redeployment of 400 central, itinerant and school-based teachers.
<ul>
<li>Option 1: Ministry of Education funding of $6.3 million and repurposed $2.9 million from the TDSB budget — 86 teachers plus the 400 redeployed teachers, so 486 in total (deficit would be at 1 per cent)</li>
<li>Option 2: an additional $29.5 million from the TDSB's reserves, which would provide 280 more teachers, for a total of 766 teachers (deficit would be at 2 per cent)</li>
<li>Option 3: an additional $59 million from the TDSB's reserves, which would provide 560 more teachers, for a total of 1,046 teachers (deficit would be at 3 per cent)</li>
</ul>
<img class="wp-image-376628 size-large aligncenter" src="https://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM-843x562.png" alt="" width="843" height="562" srcset="https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM-843x562.png 843w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM-405x270.png 405w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM-768x512.png 768w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.52.49-PM.png 1616w" sizes="(max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px" />
The options will go before the Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee and the board for discussion and possible approval tomorrow.
Jackson prefaced the discussions at the meeting around the different models by saying that resources were limited.
"I do want to be clear that the amount of funding that we do have available to us is limited and will not be sufficient to achieve optimal distancing across the system," she said. "So some sort of a risk-based approach is going to have to be used, we will not be able to achieve what we had all hoped that we could achieve, but we will be trying to do the best that we can within the limited resources that we have available."
Craig Snider, associate director of business operations and service excellence, reiterated this point.
"Unfortunately ... we won’t be able to achieve in the funding we have available, the two metres of distancing … with students in every class," he said, adding that the board would be looking to other solutions like face coverings. He added that the use of reserves, which had been originally allocated for other purposes, could "significantly impact" the board's financial position in future years.
The government announced last week that boards could use a greater portion of their reserves to hire more educators and lease non-traditional spaces in an effort to reduce class sizes. Asked on Wednesday why the government wasn't providing more funding to boards for lowering class sizes, Premier Doug Ford argued that his government is "doing exactly that" by allowing boards to use their reserves. 
<img class="alignleft wp-image-376629 size-medium" src="https://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM-405x250.png" alt="" width="405" height="250" srcset="https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM-405x250.png 405w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM-843x519.png 843w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM-768x473.png 768w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM-1536x947.png 1536w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.42.07-PM.png 1626w" sizes="(max-width: 405px) 100vw, 405px" />He pointed to the TDSB which has about $130.8 million in reserves.
"It would cost $60 million to add close to 1,100 teachers, I encourage them to do that," said Ford, voicing his support of the board's third option. "The money's there, by all means, hire as many teachers within the parameter of the reserves that you have on top of the $30 million that we're putting in there."
&nbsp;
<img class="alignright wp-image-376630 size-medium" src="https://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM-405x222.png" alt="" width="405" height="222" srcset="https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM-405x222.png 405w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM-843x462.png 843w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM-768x421.png 768w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x841.png 1536w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-18-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1654w" sizes="(max-width: 405px) 100vw, 405px" />The TDSB listed as a consideration for all its elementary options "insufficient space to accommodate students," with board staff noting that for the third option, 48 schools would have a shortfall of 96 classrooms after using libraries, cafeterias and gyms. Board officials said they're working with partners like the City of Toronto to secure additional spaces to use for classrooms. Snider said transportation would also be a concern since busing to remote sites, for example, likely wouldn't happen for several weeks or up to a month depending on the location of the sites and the availability of drivers.
In a notice to parents last week, the board said the TDSB and the Toronto Catholic District School Board would have a phased-in approach for busing. Students with special needs would have access to buses during the first week, with transportation services being extended to other students during the second week "unless there is a significant driver shortage or other unforeseen issues related to COVID-19."
The board pointed to driver shortages, saying this approach would allow the Toronto Student Transportation Group, which provides transportation services for the two school boards, to deal with any "potential start-up issues." Students from kindergarten to grade 12 would have to wear face masks, with Snider noting that there wouldn't be physical distancing on buses — students in the same cohort or family will sit together and be assigned seats. Bus drivers would also have to wear masks and/or face shields. And seats, railings, windows and walls will be cleaned regularly.
A motion calling for mandatory masks inside schools for all students, staff and visitors including kindergarten to Grade 3 students also passed on Tuesday, but a TDSB official said the proposal still has to be approved at an upcoming board meeting. Trustees with the Waterloo Region District School Board voted on Monday to mandate masks for all students. While the provincial government is requiring masks for grades 4 to 12 students, it is just recommending them for primary students.
Asked about kindergarten students wearing masks, Premier Ford said he would "go with the experts at SickKids" who didn't recommend masks for the youngest learners because they would fiddle with them.
"You know, when they’re four-years-old, five-years-old, it's hard to keep the mask on them," he said, but adding that he wouldn't stop boards from mandating masks for children. "We'll be there, we’ll support the board if that's what they want to do."
Spyropoulos acknowledged at Tuesday's meeting the "unease and anxiety" that parents, including himself, are feeling, referring to one parent's message after a community meeting: "I'm really really scared for my children." He said during a meeting last week his phone rang and he knew it was TDSB calling to see if he would be sending his three kids back to school this fall.
"In all the privilege that I hold because of my identities, because of the position that I have in the Toronto District School Board, I was feeling nervous and uneasy and I could feel the chill bumps on my skin," he said. "People are scared ... and we don’t want to add to people’s anxiety."
Results of the TDSB's pre-registration survey, which had a 67 per cent response rate (169,312 responses), showed 71 per cent of elementary students and 83 per cent of high school students were opting for in-person learning. For elementary, that percentage increased to 77 per cent when parents were asked what they would do if class sizes were lowered to 15 or 20 students.
Meanwhile, on August 18, Lecce and Deputy Minister Nancy Naylor wrote in a memo to school boards that they could stagger the reopening over two weeks instead of just the first week.
They also outlined some requirements for the high school models that boards adopt. For schools in higher-risk regions that do a mix of in-person and remote learning, the government said in-person attendance would be required for "at least 50 per cent of instructional days" — so for example, alternate days — and that the "instructional day may be a combination of in-person and synchronous learning."
Lecce and Naylor also said the government expects that "in-person learning is maximized to the fullest extent possible" and that schools provide students with access to a study hall in case they want or need a place to participate in remote, synchronous learning.

‘I encourage them to do that,’ says Premier Ford of TDSB proposal to use nearly $60 million in reserve funding to hire more teachers

Read this for free.