Due to the ongoing negotiations of CUPE members that will continue through the weekend, Algoma District School Board (ADSB) provided an update about school's operation past the Nov. 21 strike.
According to the ADSB release, all schools in Elliot Lake and Blind River will remain open, and the lessons will continue in person as the schools have not been impacted by this strike.
In all other areas of the Algoma District, if the strike is still happening as of Tuesday, staff will provide asynchronous learning for students to finish at home on Nov. 23 to allow staff and families to arrange pick-up of any required technology, as the schools will proceed with online learning beginning Nov. 24.
For more information, read the news release below:
Wednesday morning, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (known as CUPE) filed strike notice, advising that its members will be on strike starting Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. As a reminder for the Algoma District School Board, this union includes our custodial and maintenance employees and our cafeteria employees in Sault Secondary schools.
Given that negotiations are continuing through the weekend, we would ask that you note the following:
• NOTE: All schools in Elliot Lake and Blind River are not impacted by this strike and therefore, all schools in these two areas will remain open and students will attend in person as usual.
In all other areas of our district:
• If the strike is occurring on Monday, we will keep schools open and operating, using our non-union employees to support cleaning in schools for Monday and Tuesday;
• As the season has changed and there are extra demands with respect to shovelling and mopping, we will not be able to sustain operations beyond Tuesday; therefore, if the strike is still occurring as of Tuesday, staff will provide asynchronous learning for students to complete at home on Wednesday, Nov. 23, so that staff and families can arrange pick-up of any required technology, as we will move to remote synchronous learning beginning on Thursday, Nov. 24;
• We have a limited number of devices and internet hot spots available and priority may be required for certain students. If you require a device and/or hot spot, please complete a request form, by Tuesday, November 22nd at noon, using this link;
• Special arrangements will be made for eligible students with high special education needs. Further information about this will also be communicated on Tuesday.
While we understand that remote learning is not the preferred learning mode, we must consider our ability to maintain healthy and safe environments, given the circumstances.
We will send a voice and email message to families on Sunday evening, advising of the strike status. Please continue to monitor media and messages.