Staggered recess, split classes and lots of floor signs: How school in London will look different this fall

It will be a September school opening unlike any other, and it's still a work in progress. 

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) has unveiled some of the changes they're looking at to keep staff and students as safe as possible from COVID-19 infection when school resumes. 

On Friday CBC News was given a walk-through of some of the changes in place at Eagle Heights Elementary, one of two schools the board is setting up as a pilot project to test new safety measures that must be approved by the province. Saunders Secondary is the high school being used as a pilot. 

Mark Fisher, the board's director of education, walked through some of the possible changes that staff, students and parents could see when the first day of school rolls around on Sept. 8.

The province has told school boards to prepare plans for three different scenarios when school resumes: 

• Full classes. All students in class every school day with new safety protocols.
• Hybrid model: The student population split into two groups, with each group attending for three days one week, two days the next, and the rest of time learning online. This is the most likely scenario with class size limits currently at 15 students per classroom and ministry rules calling for two-metre distancing. 
• Full remote learning. All students learning remotely from home. Expect this to happen if there's a second spike in COVID-19 infection.

The school board will present its plans to the province for three scenarios this week and Fisher said he expects the plan to be approved in early August.  

Inside schools, the measures are focused on two key areas to limit infection: physical distancing and hand hygiene. 

Fisher says school board staff have been working hard on the plans, and is asking parents to be patient because the rules could change based on what's happening on the ground and local infection rates. 

"I want parents to know that we're taking health and safety very seriously," said Fisher. "We are educators, and this is a new thing for us. I want parents to know that the reality is we could be moving through any of the three models at any point." 

The drop off

In a move to limit crowding at school entrances, the board will look at staggered entry with strict rules for distancing. Parents may even have to park away from the entrance and line up with their child (using spacing indicators on the ground) and wait to be directed inside. 

Once through the front doors, students can expect to use a hand washing or hand sanitizing station. Inside school offices clear plastic barriers may be in place to protect office staff. 

In the hallway

At Eagle Heights, scores of floor stickers are installed as reminders to two-metre physical distancing. In some schools there will be a set directional traffic flow pattern, like what many grocery stores are using in product aisles. Expect drinking fountains to be replaced with water filling stations and limits on the number of students allowed inside bathrooms and elevators. High school students will be required to wear a mask inside schools.

In the classroom

CBC News was shown a sample classroom at Eagle Heights where desks were marked with either "A" or "B" stickers. This is to reflect the split cohort, if that happens in the hybrid scenario. Students in either group will sit in the same desks of their assigned cohort.

Also many school items that were shared inside the classroom before, such as rulers and scissors, have been removed. Fisher said students will be assigned their own items. Some aspects of class could change. For example there won't be singing in music class, and close contact sports like football won't happen in gym. Library books will sit for three days between borrowers. 

Extra staff have been hired to clean and disinfect schools in the evenings.

Recess

Eagle Heights has 1,000 students so social distancing is impossible if everyone goes outside at once. The board is looking at staggered recess times throughout the day. Again, this is a work in progress. 

Education component? 

How will students, especially elementary school students, learn the new rules? Fisher said there will be educational sessions with staff in the week leading up to the Sept. 8 start of school. The first few days of class will be focused on getting students up to speed on the new rules for distancing and hand washing.

The board will also be releasing videos and other information to keep parents up to date. 

"We're going to do our absolute best to have two metres between students at all times," said Fisher.

"This is a huge change for our staff. We're used to one way of doing things and now everything is going to be completely different no matter which model we adapt."