Sault and area high school students won’t be returning to a traditional, pre-COVID semester system in September.
The Toronto District School Board will be going ahead, in the fall, with a ‘modified semester’ system that would have students take four courses - two courses at a time in alternating weeks - over a longer term.
The move comes after parents in the TDSB region complained about the current ‘quadmester’ system which involves high school students taking two courses at a time for a period of approximately nine weeks.
The quadmester system was put in place for the 2020-21 school year to keep students, placed in cohorts, from mixing with too many of their fellow students out of fear that would spread COVID-19.
But parents in Toronto voiced concerns, stating the quadmester system was too compressed for students, with a heavier workload and longer classes.
That’s not the case in the Sault and Algoma region, the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) states.
“Algoma District School Board has received positive feedback from parents and students regarding quadmesters... many students shared that they found the workload much more manageable as they were able to focus on two subjects at a time, as opposed to four,” said Marcy Bell, ADSB superintendent in an email to SooToday received Friday.
There is a possibility that as COVID-19 vaccinations continue, ADSB teens could return to a regular semester in 2022.
“In this past school year, the semester system was not supported by our local public health units. As there are still variants of concern in the communities, ADSB will begin the 2021/22 school year with a quadmester system, at least for the first half of the year (till February 2022). We will re-evaluate after the second quadmester and if we are able to, in consultation with our public health units, we will return to a regular semester system,” Bell stated.
The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB) has echoed that same approach.
“A few weeks ago, the Ministry of Education informed all school boards that secondary students had to be scheduled in such a way that they took only two courses at a time. Given the success of students in the quadmester system last year, the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board has opted to continue to offer courses in this way, at least until the beginning of February,” replied Rose Burton Spohn, H-SCDSB director of education, also by email.
“If, at that point in time, the ministry permits boards to resume offering secondary courses in a semestered model, we may consider doing so. However, it is too early for us to determine whether health conditions will be favourable enough for us to do so,” Burton Spohn stated.
Like the Toronto District School Board, the Halton District School Board has indicated that it will go to a modified semester format for its high school students in September.
It is unclear at this point how long modified semesters will last as opposed to traditional semesters, but modified semesters will last longer than nine-week quadmesters.
It is hoped by Toronto and Halton District school boards that with vaccinations becoming available for those 12 and over, a return to traditional semesters will come sooner than later.
Regardless of which system various school boards in Ontario choose, all boards have been instructed by the provincial government to offer remote learning options for students for September, giving parents a choice if they feel it isn’t safe to send their teens back to the classroom.