‘Students are essentially losing January’: More missed school days for students amid snow storm
With two snow days, most Hamilton students have missed about a week of classes so far in 2022.
The other days are accounted for by an extended winter break and two half-synchronous days to allow students and staff to transition to remote, then back to in-person.
That doesn't include eight days of remote learning, with at least one day interrupted by device pickup.
Students are essentially losing January," said Kelly Gallagher-Mackay, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford. In a quadmester, that's half a course."
Hamilton high school students are currently learning in the controversial quadmester system, which divides the school year into quarters, each with two classes. The second quadmester began mid-November and ends early February, after which schools will return to the regular four-course model.
In total, Ontario schools have been shuttered for a total of about 28 weeks (or 140 days) since the onset of the pandemic, longer than any other province in Canada. Though students were learning remotely - asynchronously first, then in real-time virtual classrooms - they were reportedly less engaged.
It's almost as if a kind of I give up' has set in," Gallagher-Mackay said. January, she said, will likely be the worst month for learning since the very early pandemic."
Throughout the pandemic, experts have said learning is suffering - with online learning and the disruption caused by repeatedly switching back and forth between in-person and remote schooling - and must be prioritized.
Despite the fact that students still had loaned remote-learning devices at home, all learning - in-person and remote - was cancelled for two days at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) after major overnight snowstorm hit southern Ontario.
Time has been missed, but educators will focus on the big ideas of the overall expectations in secondary as we prepare for exams," said HWDSB spokesperson Shawn McKillop in an email.
McKillop said teachers are using their professional judgment to ensure that students are supported."
Educators have shown tremendous resilience and professionalism moving from remote to in-person learning ... and are adjusting their plans as they maintain curriculum expectations," he said.
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) offered asynchronous online learning for in-person students and continued regularly scheduled classes for virtual elementary students.
For high school students with the Catholic board, two extra days were added to the calendar and exams cancelled with the new-year changes. No particular guidance" has been provided to elementary staff yet, said HWCDSB chair Pat Daly.
I am sure at the school and system level discussions will take place among staff with regard to the loss of days and any need to adapt curriculum," he said.
Hamilton schools are expected to reopen Wednesday, the first in-person school day since before the break.
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com