Amid back-to-school turmoil, York’s controversial hybrid classrooms embraced by some families

yorkregion.com
Jan. 26, 2022
Noor Javid

Even with schools shut during a two-week lockdown -- and then an unexpected two snow days -- York Region parent Michelle Newman wasn’t ready to send her two boys back to class right away.

With the widespread transmission of the Omicron variant and changes to provincial guidelines around COVID-19 reporting and tracking, Newman said she decided last minute to keep her sons Shane, 8, and Tristan, 12, at home just “to see how things turn out.”

It wasn’t a difficult decision because she knew they wouldn’t miss out on instructional time.

Last fall, York Region District School Board was one of the few Ontario boards that opted to make every elementary class a hybrid one -- where students are taught online and in-person simultaneously.

“It’s good to have the option, and it’s fine for a few days,” said Newman, stressing that it is “not the answer in the long-run,” She said eight kids out of 24 were online on Wednesday in one of the boy’s classes, when normally there are only two students learning remotely. She plans to send the boys back to school in-person this week.

The York board’s decision to implement hybrid was heavily criticized by parents and teachers who felt it forced teachers to do two jobs at the same time, while shortchanging all the students vying for the teacher’s attention.

But in this period of instability in school, some parents say York’s hybrid system -- intended to provide flexibility and consistency to students -- might actually be a solution to keep classes running and case counts low in school. And a way for teachers who are isolating (but not ill) to keep their classes running.

According to numbers provided by the YRDSB, nearly a quarter of elementary students (19,707) opted to learn remotely on Wednesday -- the first day back -- compared to 15 per cent of students (12,709) in September, and 10 per cent (8,510) in December. In high school, 30 per cent of students opted to learn online (12,123) on Wednesday, compared to only seven per cent who were remote in September (2,933.)

“Our board selected the hybrid model in order to provide flexibility for our students and families. This model has been especially helpful as many families are being affected by COVID-19 and we have been able to maintain continuity of learning for our students,” said YRDSB spokesperson Christina Choo-Hum.

In both the Toronto and Peel boards, students at the elementary level have had to choose between returning to school in-person or opting to shift to online-only in February. If they decide to stay at home until then, they will be given asynchronous work in both boards. (Asynchronous classes can include pre-recorded lessons and assignments and allow independent learning time for students.)

“For elementary students, asynchronous learning will be available for those choosing not to return to in-person learning,” said the back-to-school notice for the Toronto District School Board. Secondary students, where the option was already there, can join their hybrid classroom.

York parent Julie Meissner said having the hybrid option has made it “seamless” for her daughter in senior kindergarten, who had to isolate at home multiple times over the year as her younger brother was ill from daycare. She also opted to keep her daughter home for the first few days, saying she was “thankful for the option.”

But one middle-school teacher, who asked that her name not be used to protect her students’ privacy, said “parents need to understand that teachers will focus on the students in front of them; they can’t give all their attention to those online.” The teacher shared a video of her complex teaching setup where she has 24 students in-person and four online. “It’s definitely a fractured model of learning, and only a few students succeed in this setting,” she said.

Kindergarten teacher Lindsay Gill says while hybrid has given greater flexibility to parents, it has made the job of teachers even harder.

“It’s great for families to switch, but a ridiculous amount of work for teachers dividing their attention,” said Gill. She said she now has 12 kids online and 14 in-person for junior and senior kindergarten.

“Now I have to do four plans for JK online, JK in person, SK online and SK in person. Trying to help everyone ... and kids are well behind where they should be and lots of help is needed.” Gill said the mode is “failing everyone.”

The YRDSB was one of the only boards to implement the hybrid system for elementary in the fall, despite protests from parents, teachers and unions about the increased workload on teachers and the difficulty for students to learn this way. The board’s own staff also recommended against it, advising senior leaders that it was “detrimental” to students and families and would leave marginalized students behind.

Some teachers say the flexibility has also created a “revolving door of students who sometimes show up in person, and sometimes online,” making planning difficult.

Yet, despite the flexibility and continuity that comes with the hybrid model, the majority of parents on the YRDSB’s Facebook forum agreed that the hybrid was an “emergency method” of teaching -- and one that should not become a permanent fixture in the board.

“I was always a proponent of hybrid classrooms, if only for purposes of COVID management due to the flexibility it offers,” said York parent Jennifer Lui.

“However, no matter how you look at it, the hybrid teaching model is simply not good for the learner, especially the one who is learning remotely, because the teacher’s focus is spread too thin and the technology is not conducive to good engagement and learning.”