About one quarter of families want their kids to learn online this fall, surveys show,

Board surveys suggest only about a quarter will choose online option

About a quarter of families say they will keep their children at home learning online this fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to preliminary results of fall attendance surveys from Ontario school boards. While some boards have wrapped up their telephone and email outreach to find out parents’ intentions for September, others continue into next week.

But so, far it appears that a majority of parents will send their children back to class, despite the ongoing controversy about the provincial government’s decision not to mandate smaller classes in elementary schools and some high schools.

“What we are hearing — and we don’t know for sure — but when parents are asking about sending their children, it might be about a quarter of the (student) population” that will be learning remotely, said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board said about 25 to 30 per cent of families of its 81,000 students are opting for home learning, although survey results continue to come in.

Alexander Brown, chair of the Toronto District School Board, said parents have until Monday to respond and it is too early to tell. However, an earlier survey by the board found that about 66 per cent of parents said they were likely to send their children back to school, while 73 per cent of students wanted to return in-person.

“We don’t have the final numbers on that yet,” Brown said of the outreach to parents that began last Monday. “We are hoping that we will get a lot of people” to return, despite the changing circumstances.

Abraham said boards are now working to decrease class sizes after Thursday’s announcement by Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who gave them permission to access additional contingency funds, freeing up about $500 million to hire extra staff and more teachers, or to lease extra space for smaller classes.

At issue are elementary classes, which can currently have up to 30 students in some grades. Parents and critics are pushing for classes closer to 15 — which is the target the Toronto public board is hoping to reach, although it says it may need to delay the start of school for a week to reorganize classrooms.

Lecce said Friday that boards can have an extra week to stagger the start of school in September, “meaning if they want to do kindergarten and Grade 1 on day one, and then introduce the Grade 2s and 3s in the next day, and sort of build that up to Friday, that is fair.

“And of course, we understand the principle behind it, which is to minimize contact, to maintain the integrity of these cohorts as they get into class. So that flexibility is being provided.”

The York Region District School Board says it can access about $30 million and will “use a portion of reserves to fund safety measures and other costs as we look to reopen schools.”

But many boards are leery of dipping into their contingency funds. The school boards’ association said its members “are frustrated and concerned” about using up reserves, which are typically earmarked for future projects, said Abraham.

“Yes, it’s a pandemic, and yes it’s unprecedented … but we aren’t just putting this money away. It isn’t just sitting there — it’s there for a reason,” she said. “Reserves in school boards are designated for something … we budget for (a project), and put a little bit away and a little bit away.”

She said the last-minute announcement “is really unfortunate” and had boards been given the information back in May or June “we would have had more time to carefully consider this, and the impact, and how we can leverage this for our students.”

“Yes, it’s a pandemic, and yes it’s unprecedented … but we aren’t just putting this money away. It’s there for a reason.”

CATHY ABRAHAM PRESIDENT, ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARDS’ ASSOCIATION