UCDSB to temporarily close schools, working on educational Supports for students

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In an extraordinary effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Ontario Government announced on Thursday afternoon that all Ontario schools will be closed from Saturday, March 14, reopening on Monday, April 6.

Recognizing that a key part of the provincial strategy is to contain the spread of COVID-19, all child care and EarlyON centres located within UCDSB schools will be closed during this time. Community activities that take place in our schools will also be cancelled until April 6.

“Although we just learned of this information late yesterday, the UCDSB has been pro-actively planning and connecting regularly with public health officials who are carefully monitoring the status of COVID-19 in our region. We fully appreciate that an order to close schools throughout Ontario is a significant step in an overall provincial strategy by the Minister of Education to address our concerns about the uncertainties of this public health issue and to keep us safe.

We know our families and community partners have many questions right now and we are working diligently to get more clarity on the situation so we can provide accurate information,” says UCDSB Director of Education Stephen Sliwa.

At this point, we can confirm the following:

  • The provincial government is assembling online learning resources for students and families to access should they desire. At the same time, the UCDSB is looking into assembling additional electronic resources to support student learning;
  • Facilities staff will continue to clean schools and administration sites, and use this as an opportunity to do a “deep clean” where possible;
    and;
  • The central board office and administration centres will operate in accordance with business continuity plans to attend to key business functions during this timeframe.

“While we want to see students in classrooms, engaged in purposeful learning, we believe that the closure of schools after the March Break for two weeks will provide a sense of relief to many of our families. We will continue the necessary behind-the-scenes work that will be required to open our doors back up to students on April 6”, says UCDSB Chair of the Board John McAllister.

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