Updated Secondary Quadmester Dates
Due to the delayed start date for most secondary schools, the secondary quadmester calendar has been adjusted. The new quadmester dates are:
Quad 1: September 17 - November 17 + Exams November 18 & 19 = 43 days + 2 exam days
Quad 2: November 23 - February 2 + Exams February 3 & 4 = 42 days + 2 exam days
Quad 3: February 8 - April 20 + Exams April 21 & 22 = 42 days + 2 exam days
Quad 4: April 23 - June 23 + Exams June 24, 25, 28 = 43 days + 3 exam days
** Please note that dates are subject to change.
In addition, the secondary PA Day on February 2 has been changed to February 5 to line up with the new quadmester dates. The secondary PA Days are now:
- November 20 (board-wide PA Day)
- February 5 (secondary PA Day)
- February 12 (board-wide PA Day)
- June 29 (secondary PA Day)
As a result of this change, February 1 & 2 are now instructional days, February 3 & 4 are exam days, and February 5 is a PA Day for Secondary schools.
As a reminder, students attending Special Education Congregated and Developmental Disability (DD) Intensive Support Programs in secondary schools began school on Tuesday, September 15. These students follow a semester schedule.
All remaining secondary schools, including Intensive Support Programs (Autism, PD, MID, LD, and Gifted) will begin school on Thursday, September 17.
Students attending the Virtual School will begin on Tuesday, September 22. These students will follow the quadmester schedule above. Although the Virtual School is starting later than in-person secondary schools, because students will be taking both classes each day (one-day cycle), the different start date will not have an impact that requires a change of quadmester dates.
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Virtual School Update
Due to the large number of families who have selected Virtual School (more than 72,000 students), we require additional time to staff and timetable to ensure a more consistent opening for all staff and students. As a result, all students, including those in Special Education classes, attending Virtual School (elementary and secondary) will begin on Tuesday, September 22. Our top priority is to ensure students experience success in both our in-person schools and virtual schools.
During the first week, the focus will be on connecting with individual students, building community and getting everyone accustomed to and settled into the new online environment. An important part of the initial start for the Virtual School will also be to ensure that all students are aware of and understand the TDSB Online Code of Conduct and privacy issues and expectations related to online learning.
Students will be taking part in synchronous (live/online) learning throughout the day with maximum class sizes and synchronous (live/online) learning times, as outlined below. The synchronous learning time requirements align with the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for virtual learning.
For More Information on Virtual School please visit:
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Virtual-School/Virtual-School-Secondary/More-Information
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Virtual School French Program
Each of the four Elementary Virtual Schools will have offerings of French Immersion and Extended French Programs. Please view this FAQ for more information:
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Access to Devices
Every student in the Virtual School will be required to have a device. For those without access to a device, access will be arranged through the student’s home school through the Principal.
Student Support Opportunities
- A process will be established through the School Support Team for students in an Elementary Virtual School to have access to student support services including but not limited to special education resource support, social work, speech and language and psychology.
- All students in the Secondary Virtual School will have access to student support through guidance counselors, special education teachers, social workers, students success teachers, and child and youth counselors
Specialized Programs
- At this point in time, Elementary Specialized Programs will not be available in Virtual School.
- In order to run a course, approximately 30 students are required. Where possible, courses that make up the components of a Specialized Program in a student’s original in-person school home school will be offered by the Secondary Virtual School. It may not be possible to have teachers with specialized training (i.e. International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement) for specific specialty courses.
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Entering from or Returning to In-Person Learning(Elementary)
We recognize that parents/guardians and/or students may want to switch between in-person learning and Virtual School. It is important to note that, for health and safety reasons, and because of the impact switching would have on staffing, physical distancing and space allocation, it will not be possible to immediately transition between the two models. As a result, an opportunity to enter the Virtual School or to return to in-person learning will be provided at three key dates during the school year, as outlined below.
Movement from one model to another will be requested through the Principal of the student’s home school. If a switch is required outside of the designated times, a limited number of exceptions may be made and will be reviewed by Principals on a case-by-case basis.
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Entering From or Returning to In-Person Learning(Secondary)
We recognize that parents/guardians and/or students may want to switch between in-person learning and Virtual School. It is important to note that, for health and safety reasons, and because of the impact switching would have on staffing, physical distancing and space allocation, it will not be possible to immediately transition between the two models. As a result, an opportunity to enter the Virtual School or to return to in-person learning will be provided at the end of each quadmester as follows:
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Graduation/Diplomas
Students who register at the Secondary Virtual School will be able to participate in the graduation activities at their home school. Similarly, the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) will be issued by the home school.
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Brightspace
All students (Kindergarten to Grade 12) enrolled in TDSB's Virtual School will use Brightspace, a learning management system provided to all Ontario school districts by the Ministry of Education. Brightspace is compatible with all the Google tools and also includes tools to enable students to receive announcements from their teacher, view class calendar information, access learning materials, submit assignments and add to their digital portfolio. Students login to Brightspace with their TDSB email address and password. Brightspace will also be available to all parents/guardians to provide a window into their child’s classroom where they can view upcoming events, portfolio items, grades and other information. Brightspace also offers staff, students and parents/guardians access to support 24/7 through email, chat or by phone.
Additional features of the Brightspace Learning Management System include:
- Integration with the Trillium Student Information System for automatic course creation, student and teacher enrollment and unenrollment
- Administrative controls to centrally manage courses, course content, enrollment, staff & student accounts
- Course material from the Ministry of Education for Grades 4 - 8 subjects and Grades 9 - 12 courses
- Integrated documenting learning & sharing tool for students K - 12 - Brightspace Portfolio
- Teachers have the ability to use content they have previously created along with Ministry content and can collaborate with other teachers on content, activities, rubrics and assignments in Brightspace
For an overview of the online classroom, please visit: https://www.d2l.com/higher-education/products/core/
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Request to be Exempted from the Minimum Requirements of Synchronous Learning
In accordance with requirements outlined by the Ministry of Education in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 164, individual requests for an exemption from the minimum requirements for synchronous learning (see table below) will be made to the School Superintendent who will ensure that alternative learning approaches are put in place for all exempted students, and respond in writing to all exemption requests. Teachers will be responsible for all aspects of instructional programming for exempted students. Approved exemptions will be stored in the student’s Ontario Student Record and will expire three months after the date of approval. Exemptions can be extended beyond the 3-month period by re-applying for another exemption prior to the expiration date.
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Requests for an exemption must be made using the online form (to be made available/posted during the week of September 14). Exemption from synchronous learning may be requested by parents/guardians or by students who are 18 years of age or older, or students who are 16 or 17 years of age but have withdrawn from parental control. In accordance with Policy/Program Memorandum No. 164, this form is applicable to students enrolled in TDSB virtual or secondary schools; this form is not for use by elementary students not enrolled in a TDSB Virtual School. A separate application must be submitted for each student requesting an exemption.
To support meaningful access to education, alternative learning approaches will be put in place for all exempted students – for example, correspondence, print, or broadcast media instruction that is based on the individual student's needs and circumstances. Exempted students will be provided with a daily schedule or timetable in accordance with the 300-minute instructional day.
Expectations for Exempted Students
Request for a Synchronous (Live/Interactive) Learning Exemption vs. Homeschooling
While synchronous (live/interactive) learning exemptions offer some flexibility to individual students, they also require an increase in the number of asynchronous (independent) minutes in which each exempted student engages daily.This may involve watching pre-recorded video lessons, completing assigned tasks, or contributing to online discussion boards. In some cases, access to asynchronous learning opportunities may be delivered through emails, non-digital materials, broadcast media, or telephone calls.
Ensuring that the student maintains contact with the classroom teacher and completion and submission of instructional and assessment tasks as assigned are essential components of a synchronous (live/interaction) exemption.Attendance for students of compulsory school age is required under the Education Act.In order to maximize opportunities for student success, student absences will be addressed in accordance with the Education Act, and related Ministry of Education policies as outlined by the TDSB in Policy 085 – Student Attendance and Safe Arrival and the Ministry of Education Enrolment Register Instructions for Elementary and Secondary Schools document. Therefore, absences of 15 consecutive school days without supporting documentation could result in a student being retired from the attendance register.
Failure to meet the mandatory attendance, work completion and assessment expectations is inconsistent with an exemption from the minimum requirements of synchronous (live, interactive) learning and align instead with an intent for homeschooling as outlined in the TDSB Homeschooling Policy.Parents/guardians wishing to homeschool a child must submit a Notice of Intent to Home School (Form 553A) to the Family of Schools Superintendent for their homeschool.
Non-digital Copies for Fully Exempted Students
In some cases, students that have been granted a full exemption from the minimum requirements of synchronous (live, interactive) learning may require an accommodation through non-digital copies of learning materials. Given the close interconnectedness between classroom instruction, building relationships with students, and engaging families; providing non-digital copies will be the responsibility of the school in which the student is currently enrolled. At the elementary Virtual School level, this will be a collaborative effort between the homeroom teacher and the support teacher (if applicable). At the secondary level, this would be a collaborative effort between the teacher(s) of the course(s) in which the student has been granted a full exemption from the minimum requirements of synchronous (live, interactive) learning and the support teacher(s) if applicable. These collaborative efforts will ensure an effective link between instruction, assessment, reporting and pedagogy and provide TDSB students of all social identities with enhanced opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of their learning. For the purposes of a full exemption from the minimum requirements of synchronous (live, interactive) learning, providing non-digital copies does not apply to non-Virtual School elementary students nor to students who opted for homeschooling.
Application Deadline
Exemption requests must be submitted one week following the start of each reporting period.
- Elementary application deadlines: September 29, November 30, and February 23.
- Secondary application deadlines: September 29, November 19, February 10, and April 29.
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Special Education
Students with Special Education Needs
Through TDSB Virtual School, students with special education needs will continue to be supported in alignment with their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Identification, Placement Review Committee (IPRC) placement decisions whether that be regular class or special education class. Classroom teachers and special education teachers (e.g., Resource teachers) will work in collaboration to support students and provide accommodations, modifications and/or alternative programming as needed.
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Toronto Public Health Letter Re: Upcoming Religious and Thanksgiving Holidays
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