The Director of Education for the Bluewater District School Board expects schools will reopen in some form in September.
But Lori Wilder says there are still plenty of hurdles.
The province has laid out three options;full time classes with safety measures in place, full time remote classes, or some combination of the two.
Wilder says in talks with all involved, including provincial officials, it appears the kids will be in class one way or the other.
"It certainly does seem to be that we will be leaning toward some type of return in September for students, whether that be the conventional model and or the adapted hybrid model, it seem to me that's the way we're leaning," said Wilder.
Wilder stresses it could all change if there's a significant spike in COVID-19 cases.
She assures parents all precautions will be taken to ensure everyone remains as safe as possible.
"There's been so much uncertainty for parents and a lot of stress faced by our families so we just want to be ready for every eventuality and we will be very much prepared to support the health, safety and well being of our students and staff and families every step of the way," stressed Wilder.
In Huron and Perth, the Avon Maitland District School Board has sent a letter out to parents, updating them on their preparations for the new school year in September.
Communications Manager Chera Longston says the hybrid model would be the most difficult to implement.
"The most challenging to develop is the hybrid model, where you're splitting the school into cohorts and the decisions about when those two cohorts attend and the detailing of the time tabling is very complex," said Longston.
But she adds the board has to be prepared to implement any of the three options and they're working very closely with the Catholic Board to make sure what they do is consistent throughout the two counties.
There have also been preliminary meetings with the health unit.
"So we've had preliminary meetings with the health unit to discuss some of our early plans and they've given us some high-level guidance on some of things they recommend and so it's up to us to develop the details that get us as close as possible to the ideal best practice or recommendations from public health," added Longston.
Longston also points out the board has to be ready and flexible enough to move from one option to another if the situation changes after September or to react quickly if someone in any of the schools tests positive for COVID-19.
The province is expected to provide further clarity the first week of August.
---with files from Kirk Scott and Bob Montgomery