The majority of parents with students in the Thames Valley District school board want their child back in the classroom this September, according to a recent survey.
Roughly 43,000 parents participated in the online survey issued by the school board over a five day period last month.
Of those who responded, two-thirds said they would be in favour of sending their child back to school full-time with enhanced safety protocols. An even larger group supported a return with alternate days or weeks and smaller class sizes. Only one-third of respondents indicated they would not be comfortable sending their child back to school in any capacity.
“We understand families have difficult decisions to make – there’s no perfect scenario as long as COVID-19 is a factor,” Mark Fisher, TVDSB director of education, said in a statement. “Nothing replaces the value of face-to-face learning in the classroom, but we understand some parents will continue to have concerns.”
School boards across the province have been tasked by the Ford government to draft plans for three possible scenarios for the fall. Those include a normal school routine with enhanced safety protocols, a modified school routine with reduced class sizes and alternating weeks, and continued at-home learning with enhanced online instructions.
More than half of parents of elementary school-aged children stated childcare would be an issue if student learning remained online all or some of the time.
The Ministry of Education has said a return to school will not be mandatory if parents have concerns and that school boards are required to continue to provide online learning at home.
In the coming days, the school board will launch a second survey for parents and students. This voluntary survey is aimed at helping the board better the current online learning experience.
