Principals report that despite the massive challenges their schools faced in the last 18 months, there are some innovations that they would like to see continue. But they also say that more must be done to address the "vast disconnect between those making decisions and the realities in schools."
In the past year, People for Education heard from 1,173 secondary and elementary school principals from across Ontario through their Annual Ontario School Survey. Principals first responded in the fall of 2020, and then a smaller group completed a follow-up survey and interviews in the spring of 2021. Three-quarters of the principals in the follow-up group said there were changes and innovations they would like to see continue beyond COVID.
The principals' responses show that along with the anxiety, shortages, and inequities amplified by the pandemic, there were also positive adaptations and innovations.
What worked
Innovations included:
- Online parent-teacher interviews, school council meetings, and staff check-ins were more convenient, efficient, and accessible, and had increased participation of staff and families.
- Virtual participation facilitated new collaborations and supported advances in professional development. For example, in one high school, students gained community service hours by partnering with an elementary school to provide one-on-one tutoring. In some schools, teachers were able to watch subject matter experts demonstrate an activity and then guide them in real time as they carried it out.
- Students were able to go on "field trips" and have class visitors without geographical barriers. Teachers invited subject matter experts for virtual presentations like the Science North virtual labs and organized virtual field trips to places students might not normally be able to access, such as the Royal Ontario Museum and Ripley's Aquarium of Canada.
- Using different schedules to keep cohorts smaller, including staggered recess and entrance/exit times, meant students were able to interact with different groups of peers or build deeper connections with a smaller group of peers. These structural changes contributed to a reduction in behaviour issues and anxiety for some students.
- Students attending in-person school spent more time outdoors, which increased their physical activity, and through neighbourhood walks, their connections to community.
