Based on the current COVID-19 situation, the Ministry of Education announced that all Ontario schools will reopen to students on Sept. 9, 2021, for the 2021-22 school year with enhanced health and safety protocols.
In the Peel District School Board:
Due to the changing health landscape across the region, we understand that some families need to make different arrangements for the new school year in September. In recognition of this, PDSB is offering families the opportunity to change their learning model choice. The opportunity to switch models will be available to students in elementary and secondary schools, in both Regular and Balanced Calendar schools.
Elementary school families (grades K-8) will be able to request a switch of models from September 1 to 8, 2021 using an online form that will be sent to you next week. The switch will become effective on September 27, 2021. For families attending Balanced Calendar Schools, if you select the online learning option, your student(s) will be placed in a Regular Calendar School online class. The switch will become effective on September 27, 2021.
Secondary school families (grades 9 -12) who want to change their learning model can email or call their school office from August 30 to September 2, 2021, to indicate their new choice. The switch will become effective on September 9, 2021.
We understand that some families need to make different arrangements for the start of the school year; we will share details about the process to switch models early next week.
A safe school is always more important than a perfect attendance record. Under the direction of Peel Public Health, all elementary students must complete their screening at home before attending school. Students will receive a personalized package that includes a paper copy of the Public Health Screening Tool to the Peel Public Health Screening Poster, and the COVID-19 screening passport. Packages including all necessary documents will be provided by the school.
All secondary students, including school staff and visitors, are required to conduct daily on-site confirmation of self-screening before entering the school every day.
A safe school is always more important than a perfect attendance record. Families must use this checklist to perform a daily screening of their children before arriving at the bus stop and school. If your child is experiencing any symptoms, please keep them home and seek medical attention as required. If students show COVID-19 symptoms while at school, they will move to a designated isolation room to wait to be picked up to go home.
Students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 are required to wear masks inside the school, including in hallways and during classes, and on the bus. Masks are also required outdoors while on school property.
Hand sanitizer will be available at school entry and in every classroom. Students and staff will be directed to sanitize hands when they enter the school building and classroom, before and after eating, after using the washroom, and at other times throughout the day. All classes will have scheduled washroom and hand-washing breaks.
New school routines will be in place to encourage as much distance between students and other classes as possible. This includes one-direction hallways, cohorting, revised drop-off/pick-up routines, closed shared spaces (such as libraries, auditoriums, cafeterias, and change rooms), seating assignments, coordination of class movement throughout the school and more. To limit contact with others, students will remain in their classroom for all subjects, with the exception of Health and Physical Education.
New enhanced health and safety measures have been added to all aspects of school routines, based on guidance from public health agencies and the Ministry of Education. Custodial staff will be using hospital-grade disinfectants for daily cleaning and disinfecting throughout the school, including high-touch surfaces. Spaces shared by different cohorts will be cleaned and disinfected before and after use.
Students in Special Education classes will attend school every day. Individual Education Plans will continue to be supported for students. For additional information, please contact your child's school.
Before- and after-school programs will continue to operate with new health and safety protocols. Contact your providers for more information.
Full-day child care programs will continue to operate with new health and safety protocols. Contact the child care provider directly for more information.
If there’s a person with COVID-19 at your child's school, Peel Public Health will work with the school to take the appropriate steps to keep everyone safe. The Peel District School Board will follow Peel Public Health's response guidance. For more information about the dismissal process and testing protocol, visit Peel Public Health.
During these challenging times, the Peel board has mental health and well-being supports and resources available for students and families, as well as a comprehensive list of community supports available for mental health, food, financial, and shelter needs.
On August 17, the Government of Ontario announced that they will introduce a vaccination disclosure policy for all publicly-funded school board employees, and staff for the 2021-22 school year, with rapid antigen testing requirements for staff who are not immunized against COVID-19. We will share more information as we receive more details.
We Invite our PDSB families and community to join a Peel Public Health (PPH) information webinar on September 2, 2021, from 7:00-7:45 pm where PPH officials will share information on covid related topics such as vaccinations and masking. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions. For information on how to access the webinar, please visit this website.
August 27, 2021 - Letter to families about school reopening plans for the 2021-22 school year.