New Elementary Hybrid Model

Teachers will use a variety of strategies to provide a stronger connection with learners. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. When a teacher is presenting the screen for a lesson, remote students will see the lesson on the computer and hear the teacher’s voice. In-class students will see the lesson on the whiteboard. In-class students will not be visible to the remote students (i.e., the webcam will only face the teacher when active). The reverse will also apply in that remote students are not visible to the in-class students. Remote students will be able to hear the teacher, as the teacher will be near the computer when presenting lessons.

The minimum requirements for synchronous learning is 180 minutes for Kindergarten students and 225 minutes for Grades 1-8 students.

Remote students will spend time on a computer for direct instruction from a teacher and student conferencing. When remote students work independently on class work, they can log off the computer. If students have questions, they will write them in chat, and teachers will respond. Teachers will monitor chat and be available for students to clarify work. Students will be offline for natural breaks (recess, lunch, time for enhanced safety protocols).

The minimum requirements for synchronous minutes in Kindergarten is 180 minutes. Between the teacher and the ECE, the students will be engaged in short lessons and activities. The day will be broken down into manageable blocks of time.

The minimum requirements for synchronous learning is 180 minutes for Kindergarten students and 225 minutes for Grades 1-8 students.

Remote students will spend time on a computer for direct instruction from a teacher and student conferencing. When remote students work independently on class work, they can log off the computer. If students have questions, they will write them in chat, and teachers will respond. Teachers will monitor chat and be available for students to clarify work. Students will be offline for natural breaks (recess, lunch, time for enhanced safety protocols).

When the teacher engages in whole group instruction, he/she will be in front of the computer. She can respond to the remote students, as well as the face to face students. When face to face children are engaged in activities, either the teacher or ECE will be leading an activity for remote students.

All assessments and evaluations will remain the same. Remote learners will submit work through the Google Classroom for assessment. Tests can be given through a Google Form and students will work on it on their device and then click submit and the teacher will receive the test. When students have tests, teachers will ask students to keep their cameras on. 

Teachers should invite all students into the Google Classroom. This is also to ensure teachers are ready to continue teaching if a class or school is directed to self-isolate by York Region Public Health. In this case, the teacher will continue to teach all students remotely. We are recommending total class participation at opportune times. Teachers will eventually have classes where all students will be logged onto a device. In this case, teachers can create Google Hangouts for groups of students to work together on an assignment. 

Technical issues such as WIFI connectivity or audio issues, must be reported to the IT Departmentment immediately by the teacher. When this happens, IT is usually able to resolve the issue. As for microphones, the YCDSB has ordered wireless mics for teachers. It is recommended to teachers that they look at the classroom setup and location of the laptop or Chromebook. The teacher should be speaking in front of the computer until they receive their wireless mics.

We have sent all administrators and OTs a memo with clear guidelines of what a teacher should leave for a supply teacher and how the supply teacher would log into the Google Classroom.  Teachers will leave a link to Google Classroom.

Teachers will provide schedules to remote learners, so that they will know when to log on and when to log off. There will be online time and time offline for students to work independently on assignments.

The in-person face to face classes, together with remote students will meet the Ministry of Education’s mandated cap for class sizes which could mean that there are fewer students in the in-person face to face classes.

This reorganization will help minimize student movement for the duration of the 2020-21 school year. It is important to note that a reorganization of both remote and face-to-face classes was to occur regardless in November and January to accommodate parental choice for learning models and align with staffing ratios. Due to the number of requests to have students change modalities and the number of students being kept at home, we felt we needed to respond with a viable plan sooner than later. We also felt that frequent reorganization of classes was not in the best interest of students or staff. Also, as more parents switched to remote learning, there was no guarantee that class sizes in school would not increase because of the need to reassign face to face teachers to remote learning. This became a possible future safety concern for face to face students and staff. With this model, there is no longer a need for future reorganization, and we are able to keep physical distancing requirements.

We decided to implement this model right away because we had many remote learners who were not yet assigned to teachers, as well as many more parents who wanted to switch from face to face to remote learning. We needed to address this immediately. In any case, we would have had to do a complete reorganization at the beginning of November regardless. This model eliminates any further reorganization.

By changing the learning model, it helps to ensure that all students have access to programs offered by our Board. Given the various operational and staffing challenges faced in the previous remote learning model, and the need to find a solution that is sustainable for the remainder of the school year, this decision was made in the best interest of students, families and staff.

This model also ensures that all students will continue to learn the same curriculum without missing a day. With cases of COVID 19 on the rise, we have had students and classes needing to self- isolate. In this model, learning continues with more consistency, as all students belong to a Virtual Learning Environment.

The Ministry of Education clearly states that all subjects need to be addressed.

A teacher is doing one job – teaching one class of students simultaneously. In any classroom setting, there are groupings of students and the teacher will address the needs of all students in the classroom, as they have always done.

The same holds true of our combined grade classes (i.e.: a Grade 5 / 6 combined class).

This hybrid model has numerous benefits including keeping remote learners in their home school with their friends, maintaining physical distancing in classrooms, and offering a seamless transition from in-class learning to remote learning or vice-versa. All students receive the same classroom instruction from their teachers.

As in any regular school year, students will first be assigned to the appropriate grade level and then to a specific teacher (for their new ‘class’). This class, made up of both face-to-face and remote learners, will be taught as usual by their assigned teacher (remote learners joining daily via Google Classroom). Students will enjoy a normal classroom experience, regardless of their chosen learning format. In addition, remote learners will be able to access physical resources from their home schools. It is our firm belief that this format will better serve our students’ educational needs, re-establish links with classmates and promote positive mental health.

Teachers will provide a timetable. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video (camera on) as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. The main lesson is taught synchronously to both groups of students (in-class and remote) through teachers sharing their screen on their computer for students and lessons being projected on a whiteboard for in-class students. The students will be able to hear/see the teacher as he/she goes through the lesson. Questions can be answered for in-class students and remote students can either unmute or write a question in the chat feature. The teacher will read out questions and answer them for the benefit of all students.

When it is time for independent work, this is an opportunity for remote students to log off. The teacher will give a time frame to class. He/she will log off to address in-class students first, while students work independently. Then he/she will join remote learners to check in and answer questions.

The new Elementary Model is a Hybrid model that includes in-person learners present in the regular classroom for instruction each day, along with remote learners who remain at home and connect with their peers and the classroom teachers remotely. The home school classroom teacher engages in-person learners and remote synchronous learners in shared learning activities and instruction using Google Classroom or D2L.

We decided to implement this model right away because we had many remote learners who were not yet assigned to teachers, as well as many more parents who wanted to switch from face to face to remote learning. We needed to address this immediately. In any case, we would have had to do a complete reorganization at the beginning of November regardless. This model eliminates any further reorganization.

The main reason why we changed our learning model was to ensure that all students have access to programs offered by our Board. Given the various operational and staffing challenges faced in the previous remote learning model, and the need to find a solution that is sustainable for the remainder of the school year, this decision was made.

It is important to note that a reorganization of both remote and face-to-face classes was to occur regardless in November and January to accommodate parental choice for learning models and align with staffing ratios. Due to the number of requests to have students change modalities and the number of students being kept at home, we felt we needed to respond with a viable plan sooner than later. We also felt that frequent reorganization of classes was not in the best interest of students or staff. Also, as more parents switched to remote learning, there was no guarantee that class sizes in school would not increase because of the need to reassign face to face teachers to remote learning. This became a possible future safety concern for face to face students and staff. With this model, there is no longer a need for future reorganization, and we are able to keep physical distancing requirements.

This model also ensures that all students will continue to learn the same curriculum without missing a day. With cases of COVID 19 on the rise, we have had students and classes needing to self- isolate. In this model, learning continues with more consistency, as all students belong to a Virtual Learning Environment.

To start, it is important to reiterate that our return to school plan is a dynamic plan. At the start of the school year, school boards across the province, including ours, started with a model where remote students were taught solely by remote teachers and in-school students were taught solely by in-school teachers. Both formats of learning were something that our Board, like many others, were already familiar with as remote learning is comparable to e-learning and in-class learning is the traditional method of learning. However, what was a unique variable and unprecedented was the level of demand from parents and guardians to switch between in-class learning and remote learning.

Our Board recognized, as an evolving situation, that it would not be sustainable under the previous model to accommodate switching between in-class learning and remote learning without causing significant disruption to the learning of students, and that if we continued on that path, this disruption would be a periodic occurrence. We did not have the funding to hire the number of teachers needed to accommodate the unassigned students, as well as the parents who wanted to switch their children from face to face to remote learning. Furthermore, we now had more information, as other school boards (such as the UCDSB) had shown that the hybrid model could work and represented a more effective way for parents and guardians to request switches between in-class learning and remote learning while maintaining continuity of learning without the disruptions of the previous model. In addition, this is the model we adopted in secondary at the onset, and feedback from families, students and staff was very positive. Teachers are preparing engaging lessons and students are fully participating.

In August, the Board’s IT department was concerned about available bandwidth. Since then some of the funding we have received from the Ministry has been used to connect our schools to Fiber. So now, in October, given recent developments, it is the most effective plan to meet the needs of all students during this pandemic.

The Board uses Google Workspace for Education which provides Google Meet. This platform uses end to end encryption, the latest security updates and protocols. In addition, Google Meet is only available to YCDSB account holders who are in the same class. The teacher is notified when students join their classes. Finally, we have implemented instructional guidelines to ensure that a Google Meet is only on during specified periods of the day when the teacher has synchronous learning with the Remote learners. Any “office hours” or dedicated time for remote learners will be done in a dedicated space.

Remote Learning includes the use of online VLE or Virtual Learning Environments. The tools in our domain are Google Meet, Google Classroom, and Brightspace D2L. These tools are in our domain and not available to anyone without a YCDSB GSuite account. The only exception includes an outside visitor such as an author or special guest invited into the class. In this case, they are accepted into the class by the teacher when the time is right and after introductions. These platforms are private and secure and have features built into the systems to keep the environments secure. We have experienced incidents where students in the class are trying to be disruptive and are sharing links with their peers. In this case, the teacher/HOST of the VLE has the ability to control who is in the class. We are continuing to work with our staff and students to promote Digital Discipleship.

Parents/guardians have the right to inform the school (teacher, principal, and school secretary) that they do not want any video or audio of their child being shared.

Parents can also advise their teacher to make arrangements to ensure that their child is not viewed/heard or otherwise included in the synchronous classroom Google Meet. This could include, placing the child in a different seating location, the teacher answering the child’s question at their desk during the time that the Google Meet is off.

As outlined in our Notice to All Learners, Google Meet, synchronous learning is not to be recorded by students or staff.

Elementary classroom teachers will send home parent consent forms for privacy. These are the Annual Student Information forms that are sent home at the start of each school year.

Students can blur their background to protect their living space in Google Meet if they wish. Students may also mute their microphones when they are not speaking during the Google Meet.

The Teacher will end a Google Meet prior to the start of recess and lunch. Remote students are encouraged to remove any personal and/or identifiable images and items that may be visible during a Google Meet in the background or on their workspace. Face-to-face parents/guardians who do not want their child to be viewable and/or listened can speak to their teacher to set arrangements.

The cameras will be facing the teacher and not the class. There may be a parent with a remote student at home, especially if the child is younger and needs assistance with the technology. When a teacher needs to redirect a child, the teacher can mute the computer so no one can hear. When a teacher needs to address an issue with a student, he/she will do this in private, both with face to face and remote learners. The teacher will protect the dignity of all students, and has different options available to him/her. At the YCDSB, we encourage and create a learning environment that is inclusive of all learners. We do not tolerate bullying and any mistreatment of students who have learning disabilities. If you do not want your child involved in a blended class, please submit your request to the Principal.

Remote learners in Kindergarten will be provided the opportunity to engage in synchronous learning for 180 minutes per day. This will include both opportunities to work with their face to face peers in whole group learning activities, as well as small group instruction. The camera will be facing the teacher and not the in-class students. Both educators in the room (teacher and ECE) will engage in working with students, rotating between both face to face and remote learners throughout the day. The schedule/ flow of the day will be determined by each individual educator team to best address the unique learning needs of the children within the local context of the classroom.

Students enrolled in in-person face-to-face are not recorded without prior notice provided to parents/guardians. Only remote learners see each other and the teacher. At most, in-person face-to-face students will be heard by their classmates, just as if they were present in the classroom together. Teachers will be presenting their lesson on their computer and they will be sharing their screen with the student at home. The screen shared at home, is being projected on the whiteboard for the students in class to view.

Teachers will use a variety of strategies to provide a stronger connection with learners. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. When a teacher is presenting the screen for a lesson, remote students will see the lesson on the computer and hear the teacher’s voice. In-class students will see the lesson on the whiteboard. In-class students will not be visible to the remote students (i.e., the webcam will only face the teacher when active). The reverse will also apply in that remote students are not visible to the in-class students. Remote students will be able to hear the teacher, as the teacher will be near the computer when presenting lessons.

Teachers will use a variety of strategies to provide a stronger connection with learners. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. When a teacher is presenting the screen for a lesson, remote students will see the lesson on the computer and hear the teacher’s voice. In-class students will see the lesson on the whiteboard. In-class students will not be visible to the remote students (i.e., the webcam will only face the teacher when active). The reverse will also apply in that remote students are not visible to the in-class students. Remote students will be able to hear the teacher, as the teacher will be near the computer when presenting lessons.

No student will be left behind. All students are receiving the same curriculum instruction, the same assignments, assessments and evaluations.

Whether students are learning in-class or remotely, they will be exposed to the same lessons to ensure that the quality of education is consistent across modalities. In other words, teachers will ensure that curriculum programming is identical for all the students that have been assigned to them in their class. Along these lines, the VLE (Google Classroom or D2L) will be leveraged so that access to information is common to all students and to facilitate the “live” participation of remote students when instruction is occurring in the classroom in real-time.

Teachers will provide their remote learners with a live-stream link through their virtual classroom.

No student will be left behind. All students are receiving the same curriculum instruction, the same assignments, assessments and evaluations.

Teachers will use a variety of strategies to provide a stronger connection with learners. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. When a teacher is presenting the screen for a lesson, remote students will see the lesson on the computer and hear the teacher’s voice. In-class students will see the lesson on the whiteboard. In-class students will not be visible to the remote students (i.e., the webcam will only face the teacher when active). The reverse will also apply in that remote students are not visible to the in-class students. Remote students will be able to hear the teacher, as the teacher will be near the computer when presenting lessons.

If parents wish to transition their child from in-person face-to-face to remote learning, they may do so at any time. Principals will accommodate parent requests for their child to move from remote to in-person face-to-face learning where there is enough space in the classroom to maintain physical distancing.  Classes have been composed honouring physical distancing, York Region Public Health protocols and respecting our staff Collective Agreements to prevent a re-organization for this school year.

Remote students can ask questions at any time throughout the lesson, as if they were in the classroom. Independent work time provides teachers with another opportunity to join remote learners to check in and answer questions.

If parents wish to transition their child from in-person face-to-face to remote learning, they may do so at any time. Principals will accommodate parent requests for their child to move from remote to in-person face-to-face learning where there is enough space in the classroom to maintain physical distancing. Classes have been composed honouring physical distancing, York Region Public Health protocols and respecting our staff Collective Agreements to prevent a re-organization for this school year.

Assessment and evaluation will be the same for students attending face to face in-person and through remote learning, and will involve the following:

• Regular assessment and evaluation will take place for elementary students (tests, quizzes, presentations, projects etc.)
• No EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) assessments for Grade 3 or 6 students

Learning materials will be posted daily on the VLE so that students and parents can reference homework/materials on the day that such content pertains to.

No, the face to face classes together with remote students will meet the Ministry cap for class sizes. This could mean that there are fewer students in face to face in classes.

No student will be left behind. All students are receiving the same curriculum instruction, the same assignments, assessments and evaluations.

Teachers will provide asynchronous physical activities for the remote students to do when the face-to-face class has Physical Education. A waiver will be sent to parents to sign and return for Physical Education at Home.

Elementary students, both in-person face-to-face and remote learners, will be a part of their home school, be in the same class and under the direction of the homeschool classroom teacher. Remote learners will participate in the same lessons as in-person face-to-face learners according to the same schedule. The same school hours will be followed by all students in each respective school panel, regardless of whether they are engaging in learning at school or remotely.

In order to meet the needs of Special Education students in this model, the Core Resource teacher will meet with the classroom teacher to ensure that the IEP (Individual Education Plan) goals and accommodations are being met. The students will be assigned a specific time to log into a google meet with the Core Resource teacher (CRT) using headphones and a quiet area in the classroom if they are face to face learners. The classroom teacher and CRT will ensure that no integrated class lessons are being conducted during this time. Also, activities and work will be shared with the classroom teacher so the Core Resource students will continue to practise and refine skills. If there is an “essential” need to meet face to face, the CRT will reach out to discuss with parents. An “essential” need is defined in a case by case manner. If the Core students are remote, the CRT will assign a time to meet synchronously. A document highlighting privacy has been sent to school Principals to share with parents.

Yes, if a face to face learner is absent from school, he or she can join the classroom remotely. However, the physical absence from the building must be reported via School Messenger.

Elementary students enrolled in in-person face to face will continue to learn from their classroom teacher in class. Schools have had to reorganize and some students will have been assigned a new classroom teacher. It is important to note that this will be your child’s classroom teacher for the remainder of the school year. In this model, parents/guardians can request a switch between in-person face-to-face and remote learning at any time.

Teachers can continue with outdoor learning where possible. At that time, the remote learners will be assigned asynchronous activities. Remote learners are also encouraged to spend time outdoors with parental supervision.

We are thankful for the amazing remote teachers that we were able to hire. The good news is that 80% of them are being relocated to schools to fill class vacancies. We tried to place them in schools with the remote students they were teaching if possible. Therefore, these teachers will continue their wonderful work and now all students will benefit from their teaching.

Your child’s achievement this past month will be shared with the new classroom teacher in your home school, and will form part of your child’s assessment and evaluation records. If a student is transferred to a new teacher in the home school, the teacher will share assessment and evaluation records with him/her.

In the reorganization of face to face classes, we tried to minimize student movement whenever possible. When students join their new cohort, they will still have to follow York Region Public Health’s recommendations on hand washing/sanitizing, physical distancing, and mask donning and doffing.

Teachers will share their schedule with both in-person face-to-face students and remote students.

This is the time when the remote students will have breaks. Face-to-face students will get all of their recesses, and teachers will still have the flexibility to take their students outdoors. Remote students can also use this time to be outdoors with parent supervision.

If parents wish to transition their child from in-person face-to-face to remote learning, they may do so at any time. Principals will accommodate parent requests for their child to move from remote to in-person face-to-face learning where there is enough space in the classroom to maintain physical distancing. Classes have been composed honouring physical distancing, York Region Public Health protocols and respecting our staff Collective Agreements to prevent a re-organization for this school year.

The new hybrid model will begin on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. School administration will notify parents of the class placement for their child(ren) on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. If your child is a remote learner, the new classroom teacher will reach out to you directly on Tuesday, October 13 to provide your child’s login information for the virtual learning environment.

No permanent staff have lost their teaching positions and most of our non-permanent (supply teachers) have been placed in teaching positions at this point in time.

We operate as safe, inclusive and faith-filled environments. The two groups of students form one unified classroom. The expectation is that teachers will emphasize this right from the beginning.

Teachers will use a variety of strategies to provide a stronger connection with learners. Teachers will use a mix of audio and video as determined by their lesson, throughout the day. When a teacher is presenting the screen for a lesson, remote students will see the lesson on the computer and hear the teacher’s voice. In-class students will see the lesson on the whiteboard. In-class students will not be visible to the remote students (i.e., the webcam will only face the teacher when active). The reverse will also apply in that remote students are not visible to the in-class students. Remote students will be able to hear the teacher, as the teacher will be near the computer when presenting lessons.

In August, Trustees approved upgrading each school’s broadband to fiber as part of the Ministry of Education Broadband Modernization Project. Fiber-optic cable offers Symmetrical connections or equal download and upload speeds considered best for synchronous learning. In October, we started connecting secondary schools. As we convert each school to their own fiber-optic connection, the bandwidth availability for all schools improves. We expect to have all schools connected to their own fiber-optic infrastructure before the end of December 2020. Although early in our new hybrid model, we are seeing that the fiber Internet connections are keeping our bandwidth capacity to a level that meets our teaching and learning expectations.

It would depend on the immensity of the technical difficulties. If it is a quick fix, the lesson can pause for all students and the resume once the issue has been resolved. If the issue will result in a significant delay in connectivity, teachers can provide follow-up instructions/announcements once it is possible for remote students to reference.

Over the years, the YCDSB has provided technology to schools through the School Improvement Planning Process. Schools have also expended funds through their GSBs (General School Budgets) and school fundraising initiatives to increase and update technology in the schools. We are using government funding to purchase new devices and technology for schools. These are being distributed to schools as we receive them.

At that time, we did not know if this would be a possibility due to bandwidth constraints. Since then, the Ministry provided extra funding to increase bandwidth in Boards. We have begun installing fiber connections in secondary schools and should be completed by the end of October. All elementary schools are scheduled to be completed by the end of December.

All teachers have participated in workshops on our virtual learning environments (VLEs) at the onset of distance learning in March. They used these virtual learning environments from March-June 2020. For September, our expectation was that all teachers created a Virtual Learning Environment, so this should be already in place. We are providing workshops for teachers in terms of best practices and useful strategies in delivering instruction in this new hybrid model. We will continue to provide training for all teachers. Our teachers will put forth their best effort to meet the needs of all students in their classrooms.

Each teacher will have a device to deliver instruction in this hybrid model. We are currently looking at providing wireless headsets for teachers to wear so that they may be heard if they are walking around the classroom.