HWDSB will spend to reduce class sizes and phase in the start of the school year

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board will use $9 million of its reserve funds to try and reduce class sizes in kindergarten and Grades 4 to 8 in a revised school reopening plan.

It will also incorporate a staggered start to the year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trustees unanimously approved the plans on Monday evening in a special board meeting.

"Reserve funds are made for rainy days and the flood is here," Alex Johnstone, board chair, said during the meeting.

Here are some of the major changes from the proposal:

Staggered start to schools

A staggered start means HWDSB won't have all students enter school at the same time for the first week or so. Instead, students will gradually enter classes to learn about COVID-19 protocols.

According to the proposal, Sept. 8 and 9, the first two days of school, would only be open to students with special needs. The rest of the student body will be placed into either Group A or Group B with the goal of having only half of all classes attend. The groups are divided by last name.

Group A is for last names that start with the letters between A an K. Group B is for for last names that start with the letters between L and Z.

Group A will attend school on Thursday, Sept. 10 and Monday, Sept. 14 while Group B will attend on Friday, Sept. 11 and Tuesday, Sept. 15.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, all students will return to school.

Only Grade 9 and 10 students will attend in person on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11. Grades 11 and 12 will start going into class on Sept. 14.

Online learners will also follow the phased schedule.

HWDSB adds that students who need significant support will have individual visits scheduled during the first two days of school. There will also be online resources available for them next week.

The board notes that the staggered approach will help it shift faculty around to help support students who register for remote learning. As of Sunday, the board said almost 3,000 students will learn online, but the board predicts there could be 5,000. 

On Monday evening, HWDSB director Manny Figueiredo said there could be close to 20 per cent of students doing remote learning.

Families have until Tuesday at noon to indicate if their students will learn in school or from home.

How big will class sizes be in Hamilton schools?

HWDSB's proposed plan says Kindergarten classes will average between 25 and 26 students. Classes for students from Grade 4 to Grade 8 will have between 24 and 25 students.

Grades 1 to 3 have a cap of 20 students per class.

The class size estimates were made assuming that every single student would attend class in-person.

The board said it could reduce the average Kindergarten class sizes to between 21 and 22 and drop the average class size for Grade 4 to 8 classes to between 23 and 24 kids — but it will need more money.

Here's what HWDSB says it would need to lower class sizes:

• Between 56 and 57 kindergarten teachers, 54 designated early childhood educators and 36 teachers for Grades 4 to 8.
• 77 classrooms.
• Roughly $10.4 million to make these changes.

• The board notes these jobs would "be declared redundant at the end of the school year."

HWDSB has enough in reserve to pay for these changes, but a presentation set for Monday's meeting shows it isn't that simple.

Essentially, HWDSB will be allowed by the province to spend $11.9 million from its reserve funds. Up to $11 million of that is free to use however it wants, but if all of it is used up, the board won't be able to use money for any other emergencies. That's why it plans to spend just $9 million. The board is also receiving $933,505 from the Ministry of Education.

That means it is still about $500,000 short. The board can technically afford it, even without touching $2 million in "unspecified funds." The board can take up to $2.9 million from the specified areas of its reserves, but HWDSB would have to pay it back in a few years — and doing so would put jobs at stake.

"It would be impossible to pay back the reserves without eliminating positions in 2021-22 and 2022-23," reads the presentation."

But even the reduced classes are still distant from demands from local union rep Jeff Sorensen, who has said elementary and Kindergarten classes should at least match high school class sizes, which cannot exceed 15 students.

It also said it has a health supply of occasional staff with more than 750 occasional elementary teachers right now and up to 180 coming soon, in addition to 130 dedicated early childhood educators.

The board said it won't need to rent out any space or transport students away from their home schools.

Adjustments to high school schedule

The proposed plan says HWDSB high schools with five period days will operate on four rotations of 22 days for the first semester. With each rotation a different course in handled via in person learning.

HWDSB said it will create a common lunch time to replace the Period 3 and 4 assigned lunch times.

The revised schedule includes Block 1 with 150 minutes of in-person instruction, followed by an 80 minute lunch break. The rest of the day will include three, 50 minutes blocks (40 minutes of class and 10 minutes of independent study) of remote learning.

"Some student and staff timetables may require some minor adjustments and some additional classroom space may be required at one or two secondary schools," reads the report.

HWDSB also said its previous five-day break between rotations will also be scrapped, stating that Hamilton Public Health said it isn't required.

That means each rotation will last roughly 22 days for the first semester, that allows for 19 extra in-person instruction days in the school year. And when it's time to start the next rotation, students won't need to learn remotely for five days. Instead, they can go right back to school.

Also, HWDSB will have parents of high school students indicate if their child will stay at school after in-person instruction ends or if they will leave. Students who stay will be assigned a "study hall" which could be a library, gymnasium or other space. They'll have to stay there for the rest of the day.

Figueiredo said Hamilton Public Health will hire 18-20 nurses to help HWDSB manage COVID-19 and said he hopes to have an COVID-19 outbreak plan by Wednesday.

Until now, the board has been waiting on the province.

A more comprehensive reopening plan will be released on Aug. 31 during a special board meeting.

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