'We are seeing an uptick': TVDSB battling staffing absences as schools close
CTV
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) closed two of its school in London, Ont. Friday amid staffing issues.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) closed two of its school in London, Ont. Friday amid staffing issues.
The one day closures impact Lambeth and Sir Issac Brock Public Schools.
At the latter, a Thursday night email to parents wasn’t caught by Elizabeth Are.
She was surprised when told by CTV News that her daughter, Comfort, would not have classes Friday. “What? Really? Nobody told me. Is it because of COVID?”
While a TVDSB news release does not specify COVID-19 as the reason for the closures, associate director of education Jeff Pratt concedes the virus is broadly impacting the school system. “Can’t link it directly to COVID, but certainly that is a part of, what is driving these absences.”
Pratt says the sick list for staff and students is growing. It is a worry acknowledged in a tweet by the board’s chair, Lori-Ann Pizzolato, who stated 400 daily staff absences are “not sustainable”. “We are seeing an uptick, especially in the last week or two, of absences,” says Pratt.
London fire crews and police are on scene of a house fire in east London. Crews were called to the 1800 block of Culver Drive, east of Third Street and south of Oxford Street, around 11:30 a.m.
A teen who pleaded guilty in the death of 17-year-old Tyson MacDonald on Prince Edward Island last year has been sentenced to two years in custody.
An additional 160,000 students in Ontario will get access to free meals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at a Brampton, Ont. school Friday.
The Liberal government is pulling out the federal wallet to put more money into people's pockets over the holidays, but its recently announced affordability measures create winners and losers.
A jury has found two men guilty on human smuggling charges in a case where a family from India froze to death in Manitoba while trying to walk across the Canada-U.S. border.
Calgary is under a snowfall warning with total amounts of 15 to 25 centimetres expected.
Pat King, one of the most prominent figures of the 2022 'Freedom Convoy' in Ottawa, has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order.
An 81-year-old was killed in a dog attack this week in Bonfield, Ont. Police believe three dogs were involved.
An 81-year-old Quebec man has been sentenced to prison after admitting to killing his wife with Alzheimer's disease.
Another windstorm is headed to B.C.’s South Coast Friday, though Environment Canada says it will be weaker than the bomb cyclone event earlier this week.
A teen who pleaded guilty in the death of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year will be sentenced Friday.