OTTAWA -- Ontario’s education minister is optimistic students will return to school in the fall, but warns classes will look “fundamentally” different when the new year begins in September.
On Tuesday, the Ontario Government announced schools will not reopen in June and will remain closed until September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have been out of the classroom since March 13.
Speaking with CTV Morning Live host Leslie Roberts on Wednesday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said “there will be changes to how September looks and there must be.”
Lecce says the changes will include distancing protocols, spacing of desks and the mobility of students in a school.
“The guidance for that is not going to come from a politician, it will come from a medical and scientific expert, we’ve assembled some of the best minds in that respect, to let kids be kids but do it in the safest manner possible.”
When asked by Roberts if the school year could start beyond September, Lecce said “we’re on track to start in September. There’s no real reason at this point we could estimate there could be a delay.”
“We’ve got to be ready as a government, as a ministry and our school boards to get kids back in class.”
Lecce tells CTV Morning Live the ministry and school boards will need to “reimagine” how a classroom will look like in the fall.
The Ministry of Education will work with unions, school boards and parents to develop plan.
“Classes will fundamentally be a little different in September, but our aim is for them to be back in class in a safe manner led by a teacher and giving kids that sense of hope and optimism I think they need right now.”
