The Legislative Assembly of Ontario has resumed.
COVID-19 Update / Return to School Fall 2021
As of the morning of October 15, 1,282 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in publicly funded schools in the past 14 days. Of those cases, 1,172 are students, 102 are staff, and eight are not identified. Three of the 4,844 schools in the province are currently closed.
Premier Doug Ford has announced details on the new proof of vaccination system that is being rolled, ahead of the original deadline of October 22. The system relies on downloadable QR codes for individuals and a newly available free smartphone app called “Verify Ontario” for businesses and other locations where people gather.
The province is initially making the vaccine certificates/QR codes available for download to the Verify Ontario app in cohorts. The certificates with official QR codes are available for download from the COVID-19 vaccination portal. Individuals can also call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900 to have their enhanced vaccine certificate emailed or mailed to them.
A plan to further reopen the province is currently being finalized. Premier Ford noted that any further measures would be done on a regional basis, and said there would not be another provincial lockdown.
See the October 14 memo, Proof of Vaccination Against COVID-19: Community Use of Schools
Northern Region Conference
OPSBA’s Northern Region Conference was held via Zoom on October 16, from 8:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The program included special speakers, updates from Northern Ontario boards and discussion regarding Northern Ontario education.
See the full program.
Local Government Week (LGW) – October 18-22, 2021 #LocalGovWeek
OPSBA will be kicking LGW off with a video from President Cathy Abraham followed by separate videos from our five Regional Chairs. Please follow and support our social media campaign and use the hashtag #LocalGovWeek. 2021 resources can be found on the OPSBA website, including a link to the Above and Beyond videos.
Trustee Code of Conduct Consultations 2021
OPSBA’s Policy Development Work Team has met to review the Association’s draft response to the Ministry of Education’s Code of Conduct consultations. On October 18, OPSBA is attending a stakeholder consultation meeting led by the Ministry of Education that includes the other trustee/school board associations. OPSBA President Cathy Abraham, OPSBA Indigenous Trustees Council Chair Elaine Johnston, Vice-President (Enrolment) David Green, and OPSBA staff will attend.
Reminder: the deadline for feedback is November 1, 2021, for both the online public survey and the regulatory posting.
Other News Releases and Information
- October 15, 2021 News Release: Ontario Government Makes Progress Attracting French-language Teachers
- October 15, 2021 News Release: Ontario Expanding Choices for Prospective Nursing Students
- October 15, 2021 News Release: Ontario Connecting Newcomers With Opportunities in the Skilled Trades
- October 14, 2021 News Release: Ontario Supporting French-language Education in the Skilled Trades
- October 12, 2021 News Release: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) Provinces release the latest results on the performance of grade 8 students in math, reading, and science
