TDSB says students will do remote learning Monday if schools close due to winter storm

Toronto students may need to wait one more day before they can return to their classrooms.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) confirmed Sunday evening that students will do remote learning Monday if inclement weather forces the closure of schools and the cancellation of school buses.

“While we had shared last month that if buses were cancelled, it would be a typical “snow day” (no live learning), as the entire system has already been learning remotely for almost two weeks and given the disruptions to students’ learning, we feel it would be best to extend remote learning for one additional day in kindergarten to Grade 12,” the TDSB said in a message on its website.

Ontario students are set to return to in-person learning on Monday after the province postponed the reopening of publicly funded schools for two weeks due to soaring COVID-19 cases.

“While we had shared TCDSB’s Inclement Weather Protocol last month, given the unique circumstances with school staff and students already learning/working remotely for the last two weeks, we felt it would be best to continue with remote learning for students in kindergarten to grade 12 for one additional day, to avoid any further disruption to learning,” the Catholic board said.

The announcements come hours before a winter storm is expected to arrive in the region. Environment Canada said a low-pressure system will bring significant snowfall starting Sunday evening, prompting it to issue a snowfall warning for Toronto and surrounding areas.

“Snow, at times heavy, with peak snowfall rates of three to five centimetres per hour possible Monday morning, which could significantly reduce visibilities,” the federal agency said in its advisory.

Environment Canada said Toronto could see snowfall amounts of 15 to 25 centimetres by Monday afternoon, with locally higher amounts of 30 centimetres possible.

The TDSB and the TCDSB said they will notify parents about whether schools will open at 6 a.m.

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