What high school could look like this fall
One-class-at-time model among possibilities, says Ontario education official
This fall, high school could look a lot more like summer school.
As boards work to find ways to limit contact between students to reduce the spread of COVID-19, secondary school poses a particular problem: How to do that when teens typically take four credits each semester, or eight over an entire year, with different teachers and classmates in each?
One scenario a number of boards are considering is to have teens take one credit at a time, for roughly half a day, for about five weeks each.
“Imagine that you are a Grade 9 student and you are in a semestered school and you are taking four classes,” said Tony Pontes, executive director of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, which represents leaders at all 72 school boards in the province.
“You have a timetable right now that shows period one, period two, maybe period three is lunch, and then periods four and five. So you’ve got four classes in a day,” he said. “One model that some boards are looking at is to say, ‘All right, whatever you have in period one, you are going to have that class now for perhaps the equivalent of 225 minutes, every day for five weeks.’
“So it’s going to be almost like summer school … and at the end of those five weeks, everybody’s going to move to their period two class.”
Under the one-class-at-time model, teens are “cohorted” with the same teacher, he added.
“So that’s certainly a model that many boards are considering. There’s no movement in the hall, there’s no going to lockers and they would … go home (after) so schools don’t have to worry about lunch and cafeteria because that’s another significant challenge.”
In the elementary grades, cohorting is easier to do as an entire class of kids can remain with the same teacher most of the time.
While the one-class scenario is the option being most discussed, Pontes stressed it is just “one possible way to manage the issue.” However, he added, it does check off most safety concerns because if high schools move to two classes a day, then hallway and other points of contact must be dealt with.
Last month, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce asked boards to plan for three scenarios in the fall depending on the COVID-19 situation: inclass as usual, with health and safety protocols such as regular handwashing in place; continue with online only — the model used when schools were shut down after the March Break; or some combination of the two.
The education ministry has suggested that for high schools, boards consider “shortened periods of in-person instruction in the morning with blended online and independent learning in the afternoons,” or the “block schedule,” with one course taught over several weeks, with an online component. It also says compulsory classes could be taught in person and electives online.
Sofia Zamorano, a student trustee with the Durham Catholic board, said the one-class model could work. But she cautioned that while many students do well with the intense five weeks of summer school, “a lot of students also struggle to keep up with the workload ... it may not be the best option for every learning style out there.”
She also said students may be left feeling “stuck in a rut, especially after being at home for so long,” and then having to learn the same thing every day.
Zamorano, who just graduated from All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, said there are a number of possible models, including one where half the students attend every other day, with livestreamed lessons on the days they are home.
Pontes said directors and superintendents will be working all summer on the fall plans, building regular timetables — a huge job in any year, especially with just weeks before school — and “then they have to basically dissect that timetable into digestible pieces,” and with a maximum class size of 15 if required.
Busing will be another headache for boards, given routes will be able to handle about 24 children when they would typically transport more than double that number, he said, and also noted that schools will have to hire more custodial staff as well for daily deep cleaning.
Later this summer, he added, boards will have to determine how many students will return to in-person classes — attendance will be optional if families have concerns — which will impact timetabling, he added.
“It’s a lot of work to ramp up, really, within three to four weeks,” Pontes said. “However, having said all that, I know superintendents and directors and principals are going to make it work … every student is going to have the support they need.”
Plans from individual boards are due to the ministry Aug. 4. Critics have said the province is leaving all the hard work to boards at a time when they are already overwhelmed. Lecce said he wants boards to make decisions based on their own situation and with the advice of local health officials, which will mean schooling will look different across the province.
Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said boards are collecting surveys “to take a pulse of our communities to see how everybody’s doing” and to ask what parents think of different options for the fall.
Student Trustee Ivy Deng, who just graduated from Earl Haig Secondary School, said “this is a constantly changing situation. We don’t even know what next week, let alone the next three months, will look like.” But she said the Toronto District School Board is consulting extensively and that a number of models are possible.
The TDSB will have a draft plan to give Toronto public health by July 14, and a month later school schedules will be ready, she added.
“This is a challenging situation for everyone and I hope whatever plan is decided on will be able to support every student not only in education, but also in mental health,” Deng added.
The education ministry says compulsory classes could be taught in person and electives online