An Aurora parent is paying tribute to teachers at his kids’ school, who had to navigate confusion caused by a “minor delay” with class placement emails from the school board, as the new semester started Tuesday.
Jeffrey Graves, whose two kids attend an elementary school in Aurora, said he did not receive the usual class placement email on Friday ahead of the semester starting Sept. 3.
Licinio Miguelo, spokesperson for York Region District School Board, said the issue was caused by “a minor delay in the queuing and delivery of class placement emails on Friday.”
Graves said he heard from a number of parents who also hadn’t received emails, but said teachers handled the situation well at his kids’ school. Teachers were outside the school with signs to help direct students and parents to the right class, and Graves said it felt “like a regular first day.”
“There was no panic on our end. We just thought we’d go over and we’d figure it out,” he said.
“I think everybody was just excited, because there’s multiple classes for some of the grades, people were eager to know where they were going to be,” he added. “But there wasn’t any disorder, it was very calm and collected, once people knew where to go they just made their way over.”
Graves took to a local Aurora Facebook group to share his thanks to the teachers on how they handled the situation.
“I find that those platforms are more used for negative grumblings, versus just appreciation posts,” he said. “There isn’t enough appreciation showed in those I find.”
“Their job description doesn’t say, ‘Greet students...’ it’s just one extra thing they had to do the first day," he said. "They’re obviously getting ready for their class and their year, and they’ve already done all their planning, it’s just one extra step they had to do.”
Minguelo said schools have "contingency plans in place for students to ensure a smooth start" when such issues arise.
"Staff members in schools across the region were happy to welcome new and returning students, and by all accounts first day arrivals have gone well,” he said in a statement.
“There was a minor delay in the queuing and delivery of class placement emails on Friday. However, schools have contingency plans in place for students to ensure a smooth start where everyone knows the appropriate entry location and their class placement.”
