WHY ONTARIO PARENTS AND TEACHERS LOATHE SPLIT GRADES — AND WHAT YOU DON’T SEE BEHIND THE SCENES

At a glance, Joe Zaccaria’s lesson plan — riddled with capital letters, cryptic abbreviations and rings of concentric circles — looks more like an ancient cipher than a teaching tool. But there’s a logic to it, and it’s one he relies on to keep his split-grade classes on track.

“The planning gets complicated, and there are times where it doesn’t work out perfectly,” says the Halton elementary educator, who must meet curriculum requirements for three grades this fall, a 5/6 split for half the day and a 6/7 split for the rest.