MIDDLESEX CENTRE, ONT. -- Just days after announcing the start of school would be delayed by a week, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is giving parents more time to decide whether students will attend in person or virtually.

Parents have until noon Friday to contact their child's school to request a change in the learning model that has been selected - in-school or full remote learning.

Families will also get a chance to change their minds, the first opportunity for elementary students will be in October and secondary students in January.

For elementary students, a request for change to the principal can be mad Oct. 16 that would take effect on Nov. 2, or on Jan. 22 to begin Feb. 8, 2021.

The dates have been chosen to align with Ontario Elementary Reporting Periods.

For high school students, the change requests align with the reporting period at the end of the first semester.

A request to change models for Feb. 2, 2021 must be made by Jan. 15, 2021.

By the initial Aug. 18 deadline, the TVDSB had seen a response from 95 per cent of their 82,000 students regarding how children would attend school, believed to be the highest in large Ontario boards.

Of those responses, parents of 65,000 students opted for in-person learning, while just over 12,000 chose full remote learning.

More information is available at: www.tvdsb.ca/returntolearn