Keeping Students in Class Act Introduced by Government

Northumberland - Thurs., Nov. 3, 2022 - In a statement to parents of the thousands of schoolchildren who attend the public and Catholic schools in the area, the KPRDSB and PVNC explained how a threatened strike could shut them down.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has announced that their members will not be at work tomorrow, Fri., Nov. 4, 2022, as part of a province-wide full withdrawal of service.

IF this takes place, both school boards, the Kawartha Pine Ridge Distsrict School Board (KPRDSB) and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board stated they will be unable to safely operate their schools for students, and all schools will be CLOSED to students tomorrow.

This is a rapidly evolving situation that everyone is following closely.

The KPRDSB said it will provide confirmation to families on Thursday afternoon/evening, as soon as they are able, about school status for tomorrow, through School Messenger (direct email), website and social media platforms.

The KPRDSB also noted issued the following statement:

Asynchronous Learning

If schools are closed, teachers will provide asynchronous learning opportunities for students by sending materials home Thursday, or through their regular communication platforms (e.g., Edsby, Google, D2L). Students may complete this work any time on Friday.

If the job action extends beyond Friday, information will be shared about a technology deployment plan.

For students enrolled in our virtual schools, programming will proceed as usual on Friday.

Child Care

If schools are closed on Friday, child care centres will be permitted to remain open. Families should contact their child care operator directly for more information.

Before and after school programs, early years centres and facility partner programs will be closed.

Community Use of Schools/Permits

If schools are closed on Friday, all school permits will be cancelled for the day. We will provide further information to community use groups about future permits.

We sincerely appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding as we continue our planning in response to these provincial issues.

If there are any positive developments between the province and CUPE that may avert Friday’s withdrawal of service, we will message families directly. This may include communications late into the night on Thursday - please check your emails regularly throughout the evening and watch for any developments reported by the media.

The same holds true for the PVNC board and all students will transition to remote, asynchronous learning from home.

The PNVC board also stated that tomorrow, if the strike goes ahead, classroom teachers will connect with students through their regular communication platforms (e.g. Google Classrooms) as we move to an asynchronous online school model for the day. The asynchronous model provides flexibility for families as teachers will be providing work that can be completed by students at any time during the day.

For students enrolled in their virtual school, programming will proceed as usual on Friday.

Government introduces Keeping Students in Class Act

In the meantime the Ontario government announced on Monday that it introduced the Keeping Students in Class Act that would, if passed, “ensure students remain in the classroom where they belong by establishing a fair and fiscally-responsible four-year collective agreement with CUPE education workers across the province.”

“Students are finally back in class catching up, following two years of pandemic disruptions. We are disappointed that CUPE is refusing to compromise on their demand for a nearly 50 per cent increase in compensation, representing a price tag close to $19-billion if extended across the sector,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “CUPE has now made the decision to strike, putting their own self interest ahead of Ontario’s nearly two million children, who deserve to stay in class learning. We are delivering on our promise to parents that our government will do whatever it takes to keep students in class, so they can catch up and get back to the basics of learning.”

The government also issued this statement:

In an attempt to reach an agreement and protect in-class learning for nearly two million students, the government extended an updated proposal to CUPE that enhanced Ontario’s offer. Unfortunately, CUPE is proceeding with strike action, even after a good-faith attempt by the government to deliver a deal that is fair for workers and good for students. To ensure students remain in stable classrooms, the Keeping Students in Class Act would, if passed, establish a four-year collective agreement for Ontario’s 55,000 education workers that ensures stability for students.

The details can be found at https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002436/ontario-introduces-the-keeping-students-in-class-act