Students and staff in London region told to prepare for possible online learning in January

The Thames Valley District School Board is encouraging students and staff to take home any materials that they may require for remote learning.

That includes personal items, learning materials and assigned technology items.

The message echoes that of Ontario’s education minister and deputy minister, who are encouraging students and educators across the province to be prepared and bring home anything they might should there be a need to shift to remote learning due to rising coronavirus cases.

The recommendation by Stephen Lecce and Nancy Naylor was sent in a memo to all Ontario school boards on Wednesday.

At this time, there has been no direction to close schools in the London region after the winter break. A decision to close schools and move to remote learning would be made by the Ministry of Education or local public health units.

The school board says families would be notified through a SchoolMessenger notification should a change in the learning model be required.

School board officials say they are prepared to deploy any necessary technology if there is a switch to remote learning in January.