Staff shortages forces classroom closures at Ottawa's largest school board

Ottawa's largest school board says it's doing everything it can to find replacement staff, as staffing shortages result in classroom closures this school year.

Two classes at Roberta Bondar Public School in Ottawa's south end were closed on Thursday due to a lack of teachers, leaving parents and guardians scrambling to make accommodations for their children.

Since early November, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board has closed 173 classes due to a shortage of replacement staff.

Former Ottawa Public School Board Trustee Mark Fisher shared a letter from Roberta Bondar Public School on Twitter Wednesday night that informed parents of the classroom closures on Thursday.

"Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to secure enough replacement staff to cover all classes," the letter from the school said.

"Until we find enough replacement staff to support student learning and provide adequate supervision, we must close (classes) to in-person learning."

Fisher says her daughter was "disappointed" she wouldn't be in the classroom today.

"She wants to be in the classroom."

The school said asynchronous learning is available via Google Classroom for students.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board says two classes were closed at Roberta Bondar Public School on Thursday "due to the inability to replace absent staff."

The board says since November, there have been 173 classes across the city, which is down from 462 class closures between January and June 2022. Most classroom closures usually last a day, according to the OCDSB.

"Like other school boards in Ottawa and across the province, the OCDSB is currently experiencing staffing shortage challenges," the OCDSB said.

"While we will do everything we can to find replacement staff, we have had to temporarily cancel classes at schools in the past year. These closures typically last for a day."

The board says staff are working on a number of "immediate and long-term measures" to recruit more educators, including conducting 500 interviews for "occasional teacher" positions over the last month.

The board is also exploring arrangements for teachers to work at multiple schools and attending career fairs across Ontario.

Ontario's Ministry of Education has also changed the rules to allow retired teachers to spend more time in the classroom. A retiree may now work up to 95 days this school year without violating the pension rules, instead of the 50 days.

"We are hopeful this will increase availability of retired teachers in accepting replacement work," the OCDSB said.

The Ontario Teachers Federation announced the increase in employment days for retired employees on March 2. The temporary increase in the re-employment rule to 95 days covers retired teachers, principals and vice-principals in publicly funded schools or in a designated private school.

The 95-day work limit for retired teachers will be in effect until the end of the school year.