What will school look like in September? We answer your pressing questions

A classroom bubble, daily video conferencing and aggressive handwashing may all be part of September's back-to-school routine.

Last week, the province released broad details about its school reopening plan, which requires school boards to come up with three plans - one for a model of online learning only; one for in-class learning with normal class sizes; and another for a blend of in-class and online learning with smaller class sizes and staggered learning days.

Which plan ultimately unfolds in which region in September depends on the public health situation locally - namely, the number of COVID-19 cases.

Understandably, parents have questions.

Here are the responses to your most pressing questions, based off information provided by the Ministry or Education:

Do parents have to send their kids to school?

No. Parents have the option of keeping kids at home and continuing with online learning, much like they are doing now.

Will students attend school every day?

With a blended model, most will not. Classes will be capped at 15 students and, to accommodate for shrunken class sizes, students will may attend every other day or every other week, depending on the school board. The ministry is asking boards to ensure students with a high level of special education needs" can attend school daily.

Under the blended model, will students be able to interact with kids outside their class bubble?

Unlikely. Throughout the day, students are meant to only come in contact with only their classmates and a single teacher to the greatest extent practical." There would be 15 students maximum per class. Even teachers are meant to keep their distance from other teachers.

What will students do when they aren't in school?

On off-days, students will be assigned school work and, where possible, will participate in synchronous online learning with their fellow classmates for part of the school day.

How is the blended model going to work, lesson plan-wise?

The ministry says teachers need to prepare lesson plans that can be delivered through alternate-day or alternate-week timetables. It's not clear if this means teachers will instruct the same lesson more than once - once to each cohort - or if some other model will be deployed.

What will a blended model look in elementary school?

In elementary school, one teacher stays with a group of students all day and teaches all areas of the curriculum. Specialist teachers can be brought in through online options. To keep students connected with their peers, teachers will link the in-school class to their classmates at home through an online model - such as video conferencing - for one period each day.

What will a blended model look in high school?

In high school, students will receive shortened periods of in-person instruction in the morning and blended online and independent" learning in the afternoon. Courses will be in a block schedule, with one course taught in-person in a six- to seven-week block and one full-semester course taught online. Additional adaptations may be required to minimize the circulation of students" and schools and boards will also likely have to finesse other aspects of high school timetabling.

Who determines when a board switches models, moving to normal class sizes or online learning only?

The ministry says it will consult with local public health officers when making decisions about when boards shifting models.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com