Dear Parents/Guardians,

Recently, teachers and education workers with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) began Phase 6 of their ongoing strike action.

As of Wednesday, February 26, elementary teachers are only doing their scheduled teaching and supervision assignments during their regular instructional time and are not covering the classes of absent teachers. When elementary occasional teachers accept a job at a school they too will only cover the class of the absent teacher.

Most students will likely not see any impact in their classroom. However, should a teacher be absent and someone not be available to cover that class, it may become necessary to combine classes in locations such as the library or gym to ensure proper supervision and student safety.

ETFO has also indicated that their members will start participating in 20-minute pickets outside their schools for at least one day a week, however these pickets are not expected to impact classes. With regards to future one-day strikes, ETFO has said that it will not hold rotating one-day strikes next week but is prepared to further escalate its job action on Monday, March 9 should no tentative agreement be reached.

We appreciate your continued patience during these ongoing strike actions. Please note that principals and vice principals may not be able to respond to questions or concerns as quickly as usual as they are assuming additional roles and duties at this time.

Should there be any significant updates, we will communicate directly with parents/guardians as quickly as possible. As always, for ongoing labour updates, please visit the TDSB website and follow @tdsb on Twitter.

Sincerely,