Trustees with the Greater Essex County District School Board want a clear COVID-19 recovery plan for the upcoming school year.
"We need a robust, specific, focused plan," says Trustee, Cathy Cooke.
She made a motion Tuesday night calling for a plan to address learning gaps students may experience when they return to the classroom.
"Students from disadvantaged households may lack computers at home even though we're supplying some, not to everybody,” says Cooke. “They may have unreliable internet access, have parents that are just unable to support their children in doing the actual learning at home."
Cooke says there's no question being out of school for months is going to hurt students.
"Numerous studies have shown the learning loss that occurs during summer vacation. The so-called summer slide. Adding approximately three and a half months of distance learning could, for many students, turn that slide into a nose dive," says Cooke.
"Being away from the structure of school can be especially rough for students in special education programs and those learning English as a second language,” she adds. The other important issue here is mental health challenges during isolation and extra stress during the pandemic."
Trustees unanimously supported Cooke's motion, which now tasks administration with developing a COVID-19 recovery plan to be brought back to the board in the near future.
Director of Education Erin Kelly says the biggest challenge the board is facing is working within its current budget, as funding was already limited before the pandemic began.
The board has pledged to provide extra training for teachers and staff with the primary focus being student well being.