Temporary Broadcast Learning Opportunity Starting Wednesday

Posted On Wednesday January 19, 2022

Attn: All In-Person Elementary Families

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We understand that some families may be choosing to keep their children at home at the current time or will be required to isolate at home due to illness or exposure to COVID-19. As a short-term measure, DDSB will be providing a limited Temporary Remote Broadcast Learning program with resources for students in grades Kindergarten through Grade 8 who are remaining at home until mid-February. After mid-February, students who have registered for virtual learning for the remainder of the school year (deadline to change your preference is this Friday through the Parent Portal) will switch to DDSB@Home and all other students will return to in-person learning.

For those who are at home during this short-term offering, the classroom teacher will provide some FlexTime learning activities through Google Classroom. In addition, there will be a daily learning opportunity through a broadcast. This will not provide two-way communication between students and teachers. Students will be able to login every weekday for two broadcasts of approximately 60 minutes of grade-appropriate curriculum instruction and content. The Ministry of Education will also be providing content through TV Ontario.

Families may login to our Temporary Remote Broadcast Learning Platform beginning on Wednesday, January 19. Broadcasts will begin at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. every weekday by clicking on the link provided by your school.

Families choosing to take advantage of Temporary Broadcast Learning are asked to notify the school of their child(ren)’s absence each day through the School Messenger app on their mobile device or online from their school’s website and then select “Temporary Broadcast Learning (Elementary Only)” as the reason for absence. This will ensure that your child’s attendance reflects that they are engaging in this learning opportunity. Alternatively, parents/guardians can call 1-844-350-2646 and select the same reason.

In order to further inform families’ decision-making, here is some helpful information about what broadcast learning is and is not.

Broadcast learning is:

  • A temporary opportunity for students to receive limited learning materials in specific subject areas (i.e. literacy, mathematics) with unique weekly themes
  • 60 minutes, twice a day (60 minutes a.m. and 60 minutes p.m.) of instruction and outreach that is intended to be used as a launch point for parents to continue working with students each day
  • An online school link and connection to provincially provided learning opportunities through TV Ontario broadcasts and software
  • An additional learning opportunity to any activities and resources being provided in your child(ren)’s Google Classroom

Broadcast learning is not:

  • A fulsome 300-minute day of instruction and contact with a teacher, and cannot provide a full French Immersion program
  • A two-way interactive learning opportunity, and is not designed to meet specific individual learning needs or accommodations
  • Evaluated, meaning there will be no assessment or evaluation of student work for the purposes of grading through broadcast learning

On behalf of everyone at Durham District School Board, we remain committed to ensuring that all students have safe and accessible learning options during this challenging time.

Thank you for working with us to support your child’s learning.