It is not a sure thing, but the Ministry of Education has told school board chairs across the province to prepare for remote learning only in the new year.
A surge in COVID-19 cases is behind the warning, spelled out in a memo to chairs from Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
Public Health Ontario reported 2,139 cases province-wide on Wednesday, the second consecutive day the daily case count topped 2,000.
At the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board, Chair Fulvio Valentinis told BlackburnNews.com the chairs take part in a weekly teleconference with the Minister on Mondays, and Lecce hinted this week the change might be coming.
The memo was issued on Wednesday.
"He's basically told them to make sure that students bring home sufficient teaching supplies -- in the event that we have to pivot," said Valentinis.
The existence of the memo was also confirmed by Lecce's office. Deputy Director of Communications for the Minister, Caitlin Clark said the message has been consistent since the beginning of the school year.
"We have said that boards must be prepared for every situation," read an email from the deputy director of communications in Lecce's office, Caitlin Clark. "We have been extremely clear that we must be ready to adapt from in-class to virtual learning without delay."
The dates for parents to change their child's learning model are coming up, and Valentinis said if learning does not go exclusively online, they will still have the option of making a change.
"There's so much uncertainty in that sense," he said. "We're still sticking to those dates, those original dates, as far as I know."
Scott Scantlebury, the Director of Public Relations at the Greater Essex County District School Board, said it too will stick to the dates until it hears differently from the province.
"The memo just reinforced that schools should be prepared, and we are," he said.
In Windsor-Essex, schools closed last week by order of the Windsor Essex County Health Unit because of the rise in local cases.
