Schools to stay closed for rest of school year

Peterborough school board officials agree it’s best for students to stay home for now

Ontario schools will stay closed for the rest of the school year, Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday, and local school officials said that’s the smart and safe approach.

“From a health perspective, without question it was the right thing to do,” said Diane Lloyd, chairperson of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School board.

At Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board, education director Michael Nasello also said he thought it best for students to stay home until coronavirus is “under control.”

“I absolutely think it’s the right choice,” he said.

Nasello said online work will be complete by June for students, and then summer courses for secondary students will begin as well as “some type of summer learning” for elementary schools students will be offered too (although the details aren’t clear yet.)

He said he’s proud of students, parents, teachers and educational assistant who’ve thus far been able to pivot to online learning.

“It’s far from perfect, but it’s really working well,” he said.

Lloyd said students will advance to the next grade even though COVID interrupted the school year — and she also said there will be report cards issued.

Lots of students will be disappointed not to spend those last months of their grade with their friends, she said.

“Right now I believe they (government officials) have

made the right choice — but I feel sorry for our students,” she said. “They will be so disappointed.”

Ford told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday that returning children to the classroom isn’t worth the risk while the province continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ford said the safety of children is his top priority and that he arrived at the decision after consulting with the province’s public health officials.

The premier said at-home learning will continue throughout the spring and summer, and the government will announce a plan for reopening schools in the fall by the end of June.

“One thing I will never do is take unnecessary risks when it comes to our children,” Ford said. “That’s why after careful consideration, after consulting with health experts, it is clear that we cannot open schools at this time. I’m just not going to risk it.”

Schools in Ontario have been closed since March 13 when the government moved to shut down much of the province to address the spread of COVID-19.

— with files from Joelle Kovach, Examiner Staff Writer