School absenteeism controversy at TVDSB

On Tuesday night, Jan. 25, Thames Valley District School Board trustees, over the opposition of Education Director Mark Fisher, voted 6-5 to adopt the following motion:

“That the director of education take reasonable steps to publicly report data to the extent it is available on COVID-19 cases in TVDSB schools;

“That the TVDSB ensure families and staff have a mechanism for COVID-19 self-reporting for those who have access to tests;

“That the board provide information on school and class closures and unusual rates of absenteeism in school communities, and should the government alter its direction on the collection of this data, the board will revisit its position.”

But most schools in Bayham, Malahide and Central Elgin were missing from school absenteeism rates reported on a provincial website Thursday.

East Elgin Secondary School had the highest absenteeism among the four schools that did report at 27.3 percent, followed by Assumption Catholic School  at 20.1 percent and McGregor Public School at 17.2 percent, all in Aylmer.

New Sarum Public School in Central Elgin had a rate of 15.7 percent.

No figures were available for Port Burwell and Straffordville public schools in Bayham, Summers Corners, Springfield and South Dorchester public schools in Malahide or Eva Circe Cote French Immersion Public School and Kettle Creek Public School in Central Elgin.

More in the Feb. 2 edition of The Aylmer Express,