Readiness for Distance Learning Survey Deadline Extended

At the request of the Ministry of Education, and in the event that we have another school closure because of COVID, HWDSB is asking elementary families whose students are currently learning in-person to assess their preparedness to have students learn from home. This survey is not intended for parents/guardians of students in our remote learning program or secondary school.

The Readiness for Distance Learning Survey was first launched on Friday, November 6 and the deadline has been extended to Friday, November 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM.

• Please visit FORMS in the Parent Portal and look for the Readiness for Distance Learning Survey. Please complete one per child in your household.
• In the event you do not have access to the Parent Portal, you should contact your school’s Office Administrator.
• A digital copy of the survey, available in a fillable pdf, can be found by clicking here. This version would require a printer to deliver a hard copy with your child to the school, or saved and attached to an email sent to the school office. See list of elementary school email addresses.

We are asking families to assess their preparedness to have students learn from home should a school close due to an outbreak or in the event the Ministry of Education directs us into a full remote learning scenario.

Our priority is to review our expectations related of remote learning during times of closure. Staff will be working on a plan to help remove barriers for learning during COVID-19, including barriers to technology and internet.

Continuity of Learning 

The Ministry of Education has asked us that in order to be prepared for a potential closure, school boards should have plans in place so they can move to remote learning quickly. While these plans are overwhelmingly in place, it is the Ministry’s expectation that all boards are prepared to immediately transition cohorts or schools (based on the nature of the isolation) from in-person instruction to remote learning, with teacher-led instruction resuming within 24 hours of the cohort or school-wide isolation. The continuity of learning is paramount to provide stability and consistency in the lives of our students.

Continued Precaution under COVID-19

HWDSB has more than 40,000 students attending face-to-face with approximately 7,000 employees supporting our students. As of November 13, we have had 56 positive cases surface in our schools from the community. If we continue to be diligent with our public health safety measures, at school and in our community, our schools can remain open. However, we all have to do our part as the development of our children must be a priority and schools play a critical role with our families.

In the spring, we distributed over 6,000 devices and approximately 1,000 more internet-enabled devices in response to needs identified by families at the beginning of the shutdown. Now that all families have engaged in remote learning and have experience with device and internet requirements, we need them to assess their readiness again. We can’t rely on the spring data because family situations change and that’s why we need to survey our families again so we can plan and be prepared.

Learn more about COVID-19 and public health measures.