Thames Valley District School Board students learning from home this school year will begin their studies this Wednesday and Thursday.
The board has notified parents that full-time remote learning for elementary students will start on September 16, while secondary students will enter the virtual classroom on September 17.
The announcement Friday came as the board continues to work to hire additional teachers to cover the large number of students sticking to online learning. According to figures released earlier this week, 13,172 of the board's 81,500 students have signed up for full remote learning, while 68,351 will be back in the classroom.
The number of students learning online jumped significantly over the last two weeks with 1,185 students switching from in-person to full remote learning. The rise in those opting for at-home learning meant an additional 317 elementary teachers had to be shifted to staff the full-remote learning model.
"We have been reorganizing our schools to accommodate the learning model requests from our families. In addition, establishing an online learning environment for all grade levels is a complex and extensive task, involving different departments across the Board," the board said in a statement.
Roughly 4,039 computer devices for those learning remotely began to be distributed this week.
For families in the remote learning model who want to get a jump on classes, the board has posted resources to support independent learning for Kindergarten through Grade 9 that will be accessible starting Monday.
In-person learning also begins next week with staggered starts in elementary schools across the board.
