Parents, students, teachers call for end to 'hybrid' classes in Toronto public schools

Parents, students and teachers rallied outside Toronto District School Board headquarters on Tuesday to demand an end to "hybrid" classes in Toronto public schools.

The rally-goers, many of whom held up signs that read: "No Hybrid," said hybrid learning compromises the quality of education that students receive and it means the attention of teachers is divided.

In hybrid classes, which were brought in to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers are forced to offer instruction both in-person and on-screen at the same time. The TDSB calls this schooling model "simultaneous learning" and says it's mainly in its secondary schools and rarely in its elementary schools this academic year.

"It's not an appropriate way of teaching our children. No one wins with this hybrid simultaneous learning," Nigel Barriffe, executive officer at the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, said before the rally.

According to the rally-goers, the teacher's attention is split between those in class and those at home, and consequently, both groups of students do not receive the support they need. The rally-goers said they want online classes to be held separately from in-person classes because students deserve dedicated teachers.

Teachers told reporters the Ontario government should be funding public education properly during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure students get good quality education.

Barriffe, also a member of Ontario Education Workers United, which organized the rally, said the TDSB is allowing hybrid classes for elementary school children in special education, the most vulnerable children in the public school system.