Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said students should not lose a day of classroom instruction due to the April 8 solar eclipse, in response to the Viamonde and Monavenir school boards' decision to close schools that day and require students to do their homework.
Many English language school boards in the Greater Toronto Area will also suspend classes on April 8, but it will be a learning day moved from another date on their calendar.
MonAvenir and Viamonde did not have educational days planned before June and both boards chose to keep them at that time.
In letters sent to parents last week, Viamond and Monavenir mentioned this Faculty will be available to support students remotely, if necessary
as part of a Asynchronous learning day from home
.
But Minister Stephen Lecce expressed his dissatisfaction in a statement to Radio-Canada. I expect students to learn [de la matière] that day
He said, This does not mean that they are sent home without access to the curriculum and their teacher
.
These school boards should reverse their decision, because reducing the number of school days is not the solution, and is not fair to working parents.
Viamonde and MonAvenir have not yet responded to our request for comment sent earlier this morning.
In her letter to parents last Thursday, Nicole Molot, director of education at Monavenir, defended maintaining the two educational days on June 7 and 27. These days are important to allow employees to finalize report cards, close out the year, and prepare for the next school year.
She explained.
Viamond did not address this issue in his letter to parents.
Eclipse risks
Observing a solar eclipse without proper protection (goggles approved for this use or indirect viewing) can actually lead to serious health problems, including partial or complete loss of vision.
MonAvenir's Director of Education, Nicole Molot, confirmed in her letter to parents.
Our main concern is that the eclipse will occur at a time when most students would normally be traveling home.
added Viamond's Director of Education, Michel Laverdiere.
