Dear Parents/Guardians,

Today, the Ontario government announced that, due to the continued spread of COVID-19, all publicly-funded schools in Ontario, including those at the TDSB, will remain closed to students until Monday, May 4, 2020. The government also said that as we approach these dates, the decision will be revaluated and that the closure may be extended based on public health advice. Please note that child care centres, Extended Day Programs and EarlyON programs located in our schools will also remain closed until April 13, according to the province’s Declaration of Emergency, which only allows closures to be extended for one 14-day period at a time.

For more on today’s announcement, please read Minister of Education Stephen Lecce’s letter to parents and guardians.

As we have previously shared, TDSB staff have already begun the significant task of connecting with all students and families as we prepare to re-establish teacher-led learning beginning Monday, April 6. We know that parents/guardians will have a number of questions including how this upcoming learning will be marked and how report cards will work. As assessment policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, we are working with them to better understand the expectations and we will support our students through the process. As always, we will share this information as soon as possible.

We understand that each family is facing a different set of challenges right now as a result of the developing COVID-19 situation. I know our staff will be as accommodating as possible during this difficult time. If you and/or your children have not yet heard from teachers, they are continuing to connect with families this week in preparation for next week. Should you have any specific questions about learning within your child(ren)’s class, I would encourage you to contact the teacher directly. If further assistance is required, please contact the school principal.

While we are doing our best to re-establish teacher-led learning for all students beginning on Monday, April 6, the weeks ahead will be a new experience for all of us and there may be some challenges along the way. I would once again ask for your continued patience and understanding. We remain committed to supporting our students and their families as best we can under tremendously difficult circumstances.

We will update our parents/guardians as more details become available. In the meantime, we continue to update the TDSB website with additional information.

Sincerely,

John Malloy

Director of Education