Ontario school boards warn of potential last-minute class cancellations during COVID-19 surge
Several Ontario school boards are warning parents that classes could be cancelled with little notice when in-person learning resumes Monday, saying they're bracing for Omicron-related staffing shortages that have been plaguing other industries for weeks.
The highly contagious variant of COVID-19 led the province to shift schools to online learning after the winter holidays. As students return to physical classrooms next week, boards said many teachers and other education workers could be sent into self-isolation due to the virus.
"We will make every effort to keep classes and schools open, but if we cannot operate safely, a class or school may have to pivot to remote learning until we can arrange for appropriate coverage," the Ottawa-Carleon District School Board said in a letter to parents.
"If this happens, we will make every effort to advise parents the night before."
Northern Ontario's Rainbow District School Board, meanwhile, told parents it may have to cancel classes day-of if there aren't enough teachers.
The Toronto District School Board -- the province's largest -- said it has several contingencies in place to avoid closures, such as adding more supply teachers to the roster and redeploying "central staff" to help out. Shutting down classes and schools could be a last resort, it said.
"It may become necessary to use the Ministry-supported strategy of one day per week of remote learning where students would not attend school in-person. This would allow the total number of available occasional teachers to cover a fewer number of schools," a letter from the TDSB to parents reads.
The chair of the Lakehead District School Board in northern Ontario said that similar to snow days, her board will be sharing information on closures when schools or classes need to be shut. Ellen Chambers encouraged families to keep track of those updates.
"Check (our) website regularly to ensure that the class or the school is open, because we're very much concerned about being able to have enough staff," she said.
Chambers noted that while the board is going to do its best to notify families as soon as possible of any closures, the symptoms of a teacher, for example, could change the day of a class and the situation would need to be revisited.
"It's a lot of things that are out of our hands, unfortunately," she said.
The province is working to reduce absenteeism by shortening the required isolation time for those with COVID-19 from 10 days to five for people who are vaccinated against COVID-19, so long as their symptoms have dissipated. It is also allowing retired teachers to work up to 95 days a year with no financial penalty -- up from 50.
Ann Pace, an executive with the Ontario Principals' Council, said the "primary concern" is whether the entire school system will have the staffing levels needed in order to function.
That includes having enough teachers, school bus drivers, education assistants, designated early childhood educators and caretakers, she said.
"With Omicron being as (transmissible) as it is and as unpredictable with the risk of exposure, staff absences and having that reliable workforce is probably the most unpredictable aspect of next week and following," said Pace, who is also a principal at a school in Thornhill, Ont.
Pace said school staff are doing the best they can to ensure a smooth transition back to in-person learning.
"We believe that with the right precautions and with all of the support that we can get the public and from the government, that we can continue on to offer a quality education," she said.
"But we want parents to recognize that the next couple of weeks in particular are not going to be anywhere near what we experienced in the fall. So please be patient with us and communicate with us because we're going to work this out together."
Brenda Agnew, a trustee for the Halton Catholic District School Board, echoed those remarks.
"Our staff (are) doing everything that they need to be doing," she said. "And they're doing things probably double time, to ensure that we're ready as best we can for Monday."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.