Students in London and the surrounding area returned home from school Thursday afternoon with materials and instructions needed for virtual learning as education workers are set to hit the picket lines Friday.
Both the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) announced Thursday afternoon that students will go ahead with remote learning on Friday. The confirmation comes after the province announced that mediated talks with the members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) did not go well.
“TVDSB students will be moving to independent/remote learning activities on Friday, November 4. If anything changes between today and tomorrow, updates will be provided by 6:00 a.m. Friday, November 4, 2022,” the board said in a statement Thursday.
The region’s Catholic school board has issued a similar message.
“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,” the statement from the LCDSB read. “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.”
Asynchronous learning refers to a form of online learning that is not delivered in real time. Students work independently and may have learning materials or lessons that includes pre-recorded video lessons or completing assigned tasks.
The Catholic board said online learning modules may change next week based on requirements made by the Ministry of Education. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, students learning from home were required to complete and take part in a pre-determined number of hours of both synchronous and asynchronous learning modules. Some students may already be enrolled in this type of schooling.
Last Sunday, CUPE, which represents approximately 55,000 education workers in Ontario including early childhood educators, administrative staff, custodial/maintenance staff, and others issued five-day strike notice as required by law, after negotiations for wage increases with the province remained at a stand-still.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce then announced new legislation that includes the use of the Notwithstanding Clause of the Constitution to impose a four-year contraction on CUPE members, overiding their right to collective bargaining. Lecce said the government was forced to put forward the bill to stop the strike, however CUPE responded that it would continue with a strike despite hefty fines that will come with it.
Updates from either school board will be made on their websites. Families with children in the public school board can find more information here, while updates from the Catholic board can be found here.
