Students should be prepared for some classes, schools to shift to remote learning after the winter break, TDSB advises

Toronto school boards won't reimpose mask mandates Though worried about rising student and teacher absences, Toronto's school boards are not looking to implement mandatory masking again.

The Toronto District School Board is asking parents and guardians of students to prepare for a possible pivot to remote learning in some classes and schools after the winter break as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the city.

In a memo published to the board’s website on Wednesday, the board said that students should bring home all of their personal belongings, including any tools or supplies they might need to pivot to remote learning.

“As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Toronto, so too does the possibility of individual classes or schools moving to remote learning for a period of time,” the memo read.

The board went on to say that that although they have not received any indication from either the Ministry of Education or Toronto Public Health that schools will close, they are making the recommendation “out of an abundance of caution.”

“We do want to make sure we are prepared to implement any decision they may make smoothly and efficiently and continue to support our students’ learning and well-being,” the board said.

The TDSB advised that students will be sent home with a rapid antigen test kit that includes five tests over the break, which begins on Dec. 20 and ends on Jan. 3.

On Wednesday, an additional 384 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Ontario’s 4,844 schools. Those infections involve 343 students and 34 staff members. No information was provided for the remaining seven cases.

Over the weekend, Ontario reported a record 550 new COVID-19 cases among public school students and staff.

Right now, more than 22 per cent of Ontario schools have at least one confirmed case of the novel coronavirus and nearly one per cent are closed as a result.

A number of other school boards in the GTHA have also advised students to bring their school materials home with them before the winter break in the event schools shift to virtual learning in January.