As Toronto begins to recover from Monday’s mighty snowstorm, schools were closed across Toronto and the GTA for the second day in a row.
TDSB said it would be closing all schools, including online classes, after receiving backlash Monday for switching to online classes less than 12-hours before schools were due to re-open.
“We recognize last night’s last-minute change of plans was difficult and, while student learning was at the centre of that decision, we apologize for moving away from our already established procedure for snow days during the pandemic,” said Colleen Russell-Rawlins in a statement Monday.
Here are the school boards in and around Toronto that have closed schools Tuesday due to inclement weather:
Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board: The TDSB and TCDSB said all schools were closed to in-person and all buses were cancelled. Online learning was also cancelled for the day.
Peel District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board: All schools were closed and buses were cancelled. Online learning resumed for the day.
York Region District School Board and York Catholic District School Board: All schools were closed and buses went out of service. The board said learning would continue online.
Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board: All buses and schools were closed, with asynchronous learning opportunities available online.
Durham District School Board: All busses were cancelled and schools closed. Learning continued online for students.
The City of Toronto declared a major snowstorm condition Monday, after nearly 30 cm of snow blanketed the city. This means parking on roads designated as snow routes is not allowed for 72 hours, to allow for proper snow removal.
“The declaration may be cancelled sooner than 72 hours or it may be extended longer than 72 hours depending on how much snow needs to be removed,” the statement said.
“At this time, the City anticipates it will likely be extended.”
Residents were encouraged to stay home as snow clearing efforts continued, with buses being cancelled and schools being closed in all school boards in the city.
“Today was a good day to leave the car at home. Tomorrow would be the same thing. Maybe even the day after that.” said Mayor John Tory in a media briefing on Monday.