Halton school board will revert to traditional semester model for secondary schools as of next week

A physically distanced classroom is seen at Kensington Community School amidst the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday, September 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio

TORONTO -

A modified semester system that saw secondary school students enrolled in three-hour classes will be scrapped by the Halton District School Board as of next week.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced on Nov. 18 that all Ontario secondary schools would return to regular semesters no later than February but he said that school boards could make the change sooner with the approval of their local public health unit.

In a notice sent to parents on Tuesday, the Halton District School Board confirmed that it will do exactly that, switching back to a four-course per day schedule as of Nov. 29 at the secondary level.

Under the previous model HDSB students still took four courses per semester but alternated which two courses they had each week, an approach that public health officials said helped with cohorting.

“Given the high rates of vaccination among youth aged 12 to 17 and the diligence among students and staff in practising COVID-19 health and safety protocols, we have seen a reduction in the number and frequency of COVID-19 cases among secondary school students, and we are now able to safely move to a semester model,” the board said in the memo. “This decision is in accordance with Ministry of Education requirements and has been made with consultation from Halton Region Public Health.”

The move to revert to the traditional semester model in all Ontario secondary schools comes amid a recent uptick in school-related cases.

As of Monday there were 1,265 active cases associated with public schools, up more than 25 per cent from one week prior.