On July 30, 2020 the Ministry of Education provided direction to Ontario school boards for the reopening of schools for the 2020-2021 school year. 

The Ministry of Education has indicated that both elementary and secondary students in the Limestone District School Board will return to school in person. 

Limestone will offer remote learning – both live (synchronous) and scheduled (asynchronous) learning – for students whose families choose to opt their student(s) out of returning to school in person beginning September 3, 2020.  

One important piece of our planning includes knowing which students will not return to in-person school. We are excited to welcome all students back to school, but we understand that families have different needs. As a family, you decide whether your student will attend school in-person, or remotely. We are here to support your decision, and to provide your student with a quality learning experience.

To help you make this decision, please review the Family Reference Guide for more detailed information about remote learning and the options available to students.

In addition, the Ministry of Education released, on August 13, 2020, additional clarity around remote learning for September. Our frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been updated to reflect this new information.

All LDSB families will receive an information call, email, or text linking you to the Return to School Opt Out Form, or you can complete it here.

Return to School Opt Out Form

If you are planning to have your child(ren) return to school, no action is required. If you are planning to opt your child(ren) out of returning to school, we need you to answer a few short questions. Completing the form is mandatory for each student not returning to in-school learning. The deadline to return the form is August 19, 2020. This is necessary to ensure there will be sufficient staff in place for both the in-person and remote learning models to start September.

When making your decision, it is important to note that families who choose remote learning may not be able to easily move back to in-person learning, and vice versa. We will do our best to accommodate requests, but school staffing is funded and completed based on student numbers so choosing to move from one mode of learning to another is complicated. Moves may be dependent on space availability and other factors.

Deadlines to make a change:

• Elementary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning will need to notify their home school by September 14, 2020 to begin in-class instruction September 21, 2020.
  
• Secondary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning will be able to do this by notifying their home school by October 28, 2020 to begin in-class instruction November 11, 2020.

While efforts will be made to accommodate requests for a change, families should expect that they might need to be wait-listed if they change their minds after these dates due to capacity challenges at their current school.