At the current time, it appears that LDCSB schools may have to be closed to students on Friday, November 4 as well as additional days next week due to the announced withdrawal of services by CUPE province wide.
We understand that this will have an enormous impact on families and all LDCSB staff, especially after the challenges faced during the pandemic.
CUPE represents valuable support staff that work in our schools as well as the Board office, including educational assistants (EAs), designated early childhood educators (DECEs), school office staff, custodial and maintenance staff, and others. CUPE staff provide critical support to students and coworkers and ensure learning environments remain clean and can operate safely.
In order to give teachers time to prepare for a possible longer-term shift from in-person to remote teaching, learning for students will be asynchronous (definition below) on Friday, November 4.
A number of resources are already available to students in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), including TVO Learn, which provides online learning resources to support the Grades 1-12 curriculum at home.
Next week, if schools need to remain closed, online learning for students will be scheduled based on the daily Ministry of Education requirements using both synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning.
Schools will coordinate with families that may need to borrow a device for remote learning. We ask families to be patient, as many of our IT support staff are members of CUPE. Students will not be penalized academically if they cannot participate in remote learning.
Synchronous Learning: happens in real time with live interaction with a teacher/educator. Synchronous learning involves educators using text, video or voice communication to connect with students in real time.
Asynchronous Learning: online learning that is not delivered in real time. Students work at their own pace, independently. It may involve students watching pre-recorded video lessons or completing assigned tasks.