Montreal school board launching new English school that is completely online
As the start of the new school season is less than a week away, a Montreal school board is set to launch a new virtual school for select students who want to take their learning online.
Starting this week, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is opening registration for the Quebec Virtual Academy, which will be eligible to certain students who meet specific criteria set by the Ministry of Education.
The online learning model will be open to students with a "long-term medical condition" who can't attend class for health reasons on the condition they provide a note from a health-care professional from the last three months.
The academy will also be open to some students who are in a Sports-études program and don't have access to specific courses where they are studying. Students in rural areas who lack access to specific courses and where transportation to an alternative school is not an option will also be eligible.
The EMSB said this new model was inspired by remote learning during the pandemic which gave students access to education while mitigating infection concerns.
"It became very clear that there are students with medical issues, not necessarily related to COVID, who didn't have this option before. So now we're going to be able to allow them to have this really terrific opportunity," said Mike Cohen, a school board spokesperson. "Of course, it has to be deemed by a medical professional. It's not just an automatic call us and we'll sign you up."
The program will be offered to students in the English system from kindergarten to Grade 11 and teachers will be soon be assigned to virtual learning. Registration is expected to be launched on the EMSB website in the coming days.
Cohen believes the program is a first in Quebec.
"This would be the first of its kind that I know of because it's far-reaching," he said. "It's not just related to medical conditions. It really opens up a door to students who need this and we're going to be working with our sister boards across the province to ensure they let their populations know that this wonderful option exists."
RETURN TO IN-PERSON LEARNING
For some students, a school that is entirely online might seem like an appealing option, especially for those with compromised immune systems. Immunocompromised students used to have automatic access to online learning under the province's emergency measures but that is no longer the case.
Students in an elementary school get ready for class as Quebec students get back to school in Montreal on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
As the return to in-person learning starts for the school year, public health officials say there is no need to completely shut down a classroom in the case of an outbreak.
This directive comes as officials said Wednesday this year's back-to-school season will be the safest one yet in two years with protection from COVID-19 from a previous infection during the seventh wave or recent vaccination — or both.
During a news conference on the COVID-19 situation, officials said transmission isn't largely happening in the classroom.
"Most of the time it was not school. It was actually household transmission because you’re actually more likely to spend time within your household," said Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, who sits on the Quebec Immunization Committee.
Dr. Marie-France Raynault, a senior public health advisor to Quebec's health ministry, also told reporters, "there's no reason from a public health basis to close a school.
To help mitigate the spread of the virus this fall, the province is supplying schools with 14 million rapid tests and is supposed to install 90,000 CO2 monitors to test air quality in classrooms by December.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.