Local schools to return to in-person classes Monday

By Marissa Settatree

BELLEVILLE — Elementary and secondary students in the area covered by the Hastings-Prince Edward Public Health Unit will return to school for in-person learning on Monday.

Hastings Prince-Edward District School Board and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board are among seven school boards that have been approved by the ministry of education to resume in-person classes.

The ministry issued a statement on Wednesday, updating the province on which schools can resume in-person learning and which ones cannot. Schools in the Toronto and Peel regions are among those who will be continuing remote-learning.

“Getting students back into class is our top priority,” Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said in the statement.

There will be new guidelines for students returning to in-person learning in order to keep the children safe including enhanced screening and mandatory masking for students in grades one through three. More school districts permitted to return to in-person learning will continue to be announced as the provincial government approves them.

More to come…