We need to urgently send a message to the Ford government and push back against measures that do not have the best interest of students in mind. Please join our community meeting and phone zap on Thursday, June 24th at 6:00 pm where we will be calling Premier Ford and the Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, to Say No to Hybrid Learning.
The event will be hosted by University–Rosedale MPP Jessica Bell and Davenport MPP Marit Stiles and feature special guest speakers Hayssam Hulays (Exec Officer at OSSTF), Esther Uhm (Educator), and Jed Sears (Secondary Student). We will also be taking questions from attendees and hearing from concerned parents, students, and educators.
Background info:
The last year and a half have been an extremely difficult time for students, parents, and educators. Online learning has left many youth at a serious disadvantage, as they have not received the focused attention and support they need to succeed in school. Teachers have not been able to provide the level of instruction they strive for and parents have struggled to work while also supervising their children's learning from home.
We have heard from countless families who have called virtual school disruptive, ineffective, and harmful for the mental health of their children.
Yet, despite these dire outcomes, the Ford government is supporting a hybrid learning model for the next school year which would incorporate both in-person and remote learning and numerous school boards are feeling the pressure to comply. Premier Ford would rather save on costs than give students a good education.
Our children deserve more. They deserve a system that allows them to excel in school. They deserve to study alongside their peers and teachers. They deserve a return to safe, in-person learning and the hybrid model will not provide that.