Below is an Elementary Virtual School update for Friday, October 16, 2020.

English Classes

• We have now successfully filled all current English teacher vacancies in the Elementary Virtual School and we anticipate more stability in English speaking staffing /classes.
• Teachers new to the Virtual School have all been assigned a class and are connecting with families and students.

French Immersion (FI)/Extended French (EF) Classes

• We have just over 6000 students in FI/EF in the Virtual School.
• As a result of the elementary school reorganization, we were anticipating enough French teachers to fill most of the vacancies in Virtual School. Forty two French language teachers were added to the Virtual School to fill EF/IF classes. However there are still 48 EF/FI classes with an English teacher in place until additional French teachers are confirmed.
• We continue to have a shortage of French language teachers, as do other GTA school boards. The occasional teacher roster does not have any additional teachers who could be assigned to French Immersion/Extended French at this moment.
   
• Staffing of FI/EF classes continues to be a priority and are taking the following combination of steps to help resolve the teacher shortage:
  • Look at delivering EF/FI Grades 5-8 with a French and English teacher since 50% of the curriculum is French (this will require some class reallocation).
  • Continue to actively recruit French language teachers including from other parts of Canada to work remotely.
  • Begin recruitment of French speaking individuals who are not members of the Ontario College of Teachers, who could be hired on a Letter of Permission from the Ministry of Education to assist with these challenges.