Shelburne students to continue with online learning

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Shelburne students will be continuing with online learning until further notice, according to the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB).

The UGDSB made an announcement last Friday (Jan. 22) regarding the extension of online learning, which said the earliest they expect students could return back for in-person learning would be Feb. 11. 

“At this time, we do not expect that schools will resume in-person learning until the end of the provincial emergency order on February 11, 2021, at the earliest,” said the school board in a press release. “This means that all UGDSB schools will continue with our current measures for online learning until further notice.” 

The notice comes after Minster of Education, Stephen Lecce, announced on Jan. 20 that over 100,000 students from seven public health units would be returning to school on Jan. 25. The UGDSB was not on the list of school boards permitted to return. 

Only schools in the southeast region of Ontario were given the green light.

Chief Medical Officer of Health and CEO of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), Dr. Nicola Mercer also extended the date to return to school for elementary and secondary schools until at least Feb. 1. during an announcement on Jan. 20

“Cases are declining in the region,” said Dr. Mercer. “We are doing the difficult work of bringing COVID back down to levels where we can safely reopen school, but we are simply not there yet.” 

The UGDSB says the return to school date or any possible extensions for online learning will be determined by the Ministry of Education and Province. They also note that an official announcement from the Province will be communicated closer to the planned return to in-person learning (Feb. 11). 

Throughout the school closures, specialized classes for students with developmental disabilities (DD classes) in elementary and secondary schools have remained open for in-person learning and will continue for those students.  

Child care for non-school aged children and emergency child care for school-aged children of frontline workers will also remain open until in-person learning resumes, while before and after school programs will remain closed. 

At the time of print, there is no definitive date for when students could expect to return to in-person learning.