District-Wide Timetable
The Upper Canada District School Board is in the process of implementing a district-wide timetable at all of our 21 high schools. This means that all high schools will follow a common five-period day and have the same start/finish times each day.
A common timetable will allow our Board to provide an enhanced, synchronous delivery of eLearning courses, to expand Continuing Education course options outside of the regular school day and to create opportunities for school activities such as sports and field trips to be scheduled in a manner that supports student learning and attendance during instructional time.
The District-Wide Timetable structure features a five-day rotation with five periods in each school day. The model has a daily repeat period intended for learning activities that require extended time, collaboration, group work and work completion. This means that students will have time built into each of their courses every week to stay caught up and on track for success – with the support of their subject teacher to do so.
The need for a district-wide timetable is grounded in two UCDSB realities:
- the need for our students to be able to access the courses they desire or need for future success
- our desire as a Board to ensure that all UCDSB students have equitable opportunities to do so
With all UCDSB secondary schools following the same schedule, we can offer synchronous eLearning courses that occur in a set period of the day with the class teacher available and online during that time for digital instruction and daily support. Students from across our Board can be taking the same course at the same time and have direct contact with the teacher and other students, much like a traditional face-to-face course. Together, they can participate in discussions, collaborate on learning tasks and seek clarification and feedback on assignments. This will provide students with the flexibility of online learning with enhanced support that taking it synchronously can offer.
The district-wide timetable structure will allow us to develop a coordinated approach to program delivery across the UCDSB to provide greater equity in our schools. eLearning, Continuing Education, Summer Semester and face-to-face instruction are familiar tools that we will be able to use more strategically to serve our students, regardless of geographic location or the size of the local secondary school.