No public board virtual high school is a problem for some students and teachers says union

Some parents, educators and local unions are complaining about thepublic school board's decision not to have avirtual school forhigh school students.

The issue is with students who are supposedto attend class in-person, but don't or can't they have to try and learn remotely.

Daryl Jerome, president of the local Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, saideducators have told him they are struggling to find time during the work day to help those students while they also try to juggle teaching in-person duringthe morning and remotely in the afternoon.

Those students who don't attend, Jerome says, are unaccounted for in educators' schedules.

He said the public school board, unlike the Catholic board, made a mistake not implementing a virtual school for secondary students.

"My biggest concern is for my members because the workload is untenable. For the public, their son or daughter is not going to get the education they think they're going to get," Jerome explained.

"It's not because of my members' unwillingness to do it, it's because of a massive workload. The board is using their passion against them. They're expecting, without putting it explicitly in writing, them to work on their personal time, at home. They don't have time to do it during the day because they have to teach their other classes."

It's unclear how many educators and students are impacted by this as the board doesn't track the number of students who don't attend their assigned in-person session, but MannyFigueiredo, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board director of education, told CBChe believes it's a small number.

High schools use a rotational model that includes a half-day in-person classfollowed by three shorter periods of teacher-directed remote learning classes. Cohorts alternate every other day for the in-person class while everyone participates in the daily afternoon remote sessions. The morning sessions are the sticking point for those learning from home.

The public board only has virtual school for elementary students, which in some cases has been delayed due to a spike in enrollment.

On its website, the board does present learning remotely (but following the local high school schedule)as an available option.

Figueiredo said high school educators have prep time that can be longer or shorter depending on the rotation, which may give them enough time to manage the remote students. Theyalso have 48 hours to respond to those requests.

But he ultimately emphasizedthat parents whose students don't attend their in-person session can't expect the same learning experience.

"We've said [to parents that]teachers will be live in the afternoon and those other courses. They'll do their best to provide what they can but it's not an expectation they're providing direct synchronous learning and if you want that, we expect students on their day ... they have half a class in front of them," he explained.

"Ifyou don't want to attend there's full eLearning courses you can choose."

Figueiredo added that the board and principals will help educators juggle the various learning methods but also that teachers are using their "professional judgment" in how they approach those remote students.

Sherri Barrattis one of the parents who reached out to CBC about issues with remote schooling. She says her son Nate is trying it out.

They live in Binbrook and Nate has an individual education plan (IEP), which Barratt felt made going to school riskier.

So far, Barratt said it's going OK for Nate because his physical educationteacher has been able to adapt. It's a sign that this isn't necessarily an issue for all educators. But Barrattworries about when Nategets harder first period courses.

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"Come October, he'll have his tech course, which is [harder and] normally quite hands-on so we'll have to make the decision about whether we send him to school but even then if he does, the buses have to be organized," she said.

"The teacher can't be in two places at once ... you're not able to ask them questions during that first periodbecause they're busy teaching" she said.

Her daughter, Makenna, is in the Catholic board, which does have a virtual school. Barratt says it makes a big difference.

"It's been much easier for her. She just has the one course to do at a time ... but their online the whole time," she said.

"They're connected with a teacher and classmates, they're allowed to have their video screens on. It's a little more like being in class."

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