Hamilton’s school boards are looking at potentially staggering or phasing in a return to class for students during the first two weeks of school.
The chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Pat Daly, says trustees received a memo from the province Tuesday evening that granted them the authority to implement a phased approach, which he calls welcome news.
“Ourselves, and other boards, and our provincial trustees’ association, have been encouraging the ministry to consider any, and all, options that will help promote a safe school reopening for our students and staff,” Daly said.
School board staff are working to determine what a staggered return to school would look like, including whether different grades would attend class at different times, or on alternating days.
Meantime, dozens of parents in Hamilton are complaining about glitches, errors or faulty technology in trying to register their children for fall classes at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB).
The registration deadline is Friday, but several social media groups have popped up and have complained about problems with the public board’s online Parent Portal.
HWDSB chair Alex Johnstone says additional resources are being brought in to resolve the IT challenges.
The board says some of the problems may be due to a high volume of parents trying to register their children at the same time.
Johnstone says the percentage of students returning to class in Hamilton will be clear after registration closes.
School boards in Toronto and Ottawa say more than two-thirds of their elementary students will return to class next month.
A survey of parents in those two cities shows 73 per cent of students are expected in class in Ottawa and 71 per cent in Toronto.
Johnstone adds that Hamilton trustees will discuss using revenue funds to reduce class sizes when they meet on Monday.
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