WRDSB revises staggered start of the school year, WCDSB moves secondary start date

The start of the public school year is being delayed to allow students and staff time to transition back into the learning environment, both online and in-person, the Waterloo Region District School Board has announced.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board also announced on Tuesday that the start date for secondary students will now be Monday, Sept. 14.

In a news release late Monday, WRDSB said the later start will give staff time to prepare to safely welcome their students back into the classroom and transition to their new assignments. 

Orientation sessions for junior kindergarten are planned for Sept. 10 and 11.

For Grade 9 students, Sept. 9 and 10 will be Grade 9 orientation. This program is designed to make their back to school transition easier, the board said. Students with special education needs will also return to the classroom first.

Staff will also connect one-on-one with students participating in distance learning to make sure technology resources are in place and make personal connections, WRDSB said.

"This was a difficult decision, but one we believe is necessary to ensure we are best positioned to meet the needs of our students and staff," director of education John Bryant said in a release. 

"We will take a gradual approach to the start of the school year as we continue to train staff, align resources, and prepare for the safe reopening of schools. We have one chance to do this, we need to make sure it's right."

Here's a breakdown for the different levels:

Elementary in-person

• Sept. 8 and 9 will now be set aside for staff to prepare for the safe arrival of students, adapt to the new environment and transition to their new assignments.

• Sept. 10 and 11, classes for students with special needs, English language learners in the ABLE Program, and other vulnerable learners will return to school. All other staff will be taking these two days to connect one on one with students and their families.

• Junior kindergarten students will attend school for orientation on Sept. 10 and 11 to become familiar with their new classroom and learning environment. Students with surnames A to L will attend on Sept. 10 and M to Z on Sept. 11.

Secondary in-person:

• Sept. 8 will now be set aside for staff to prepare for the safe arrival of students, adapt to the new environment and transition to their new assignments.

• On Sept. 9 and 10, Grade 9 students will attend school for orientation in two groups, with Cohort A attending on Sept. 9 and Cohort B on Sept. 10.

• Also on Sept. 9 and 10, classes for students with special needs, English language learners attending one of the four magnet schools and other vulnerable learners will transition back to school.

• On Sept. 11, Cohort B will attend school for their Period 1 course, and the board will resume the original schedule from this point onwards.

Elementary distance learning:

• Sept. 8, staff will transition into their new roles and gain a clearer understanding of their new responsibilities in the distance learning program.

• On Sept. 9 to 11, staff will be taking the time to connect one-on-one virtually with students and their families. This will offer an opportunity to create relationships, ensure technology is in place to support student learning and provide a blended learning orientation for students, the board said.

• Full day distance learning will begin on Monday, Sept. 14.

Secondary distance learning:

• On Sept. 8, staff will transition into their new roles and gain a clearer understanding of their new responsibilities in the distance learning program.

• On Sept. 9 and 10, staff will be taking the time to connect one on one virtually with students and their families. 

• Full distance learning will begin on Friday, Sept. 11.

WCDSB moves secondary start date

Meanwhile, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board says the start date for secondary students will now be Monday, Sept. 14 instead of Tuesday, Sept. 8.

In a letter to parents and guardians on Tuesday, director of education Loretta Notten said in addition to wanting to ensure buildings are fully ready to welcome students, they have also been transitioning to a new student information system.

"The process of both the transition to the new system and of adapting our student information system to the new quadmester model was somewhat more time consuming than we had hoped," Notten wrote in the letter.

"We need to have full confidence that we know where each student is supposed to be and to ensure our cohorts have been balanced appropriately in terms of numbers."

Notten added that for all these reasons, and out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to move the date forward.

The elementary school staggered start is not changing from what was previously announced, the board says. That plan has Grades 1 and 2 starting on Tuesday, then Grades 1 to 4 on Wednesday, then Grades 1 to 6 on Thursday and Grades 1 through 8 on Friday.

For kindergarten students, there will be visits on Tuesday for junior kindergarten, all senior kindergarten students will attend on Wednesday. On Thursday, all senior and half of junior kindergarten students will attend. On Friday, all senior and the other half of junior kindergarten students will attend.

The board says information about cohorts will be made available on Wednesday, Sept. 2.