Thousands of students ‘no-shows’
Forced switch to virtual classes sees spike in absences, highest among elementary school kids
Thousands of students have been absent from class for “no reason,” according to recent data from Toronto’s public school board.
It’s unclear why they were away last week after the province’s lastminute decision to move schools to remote learning due to rising COVID-19 cases. But figures reveal absences were particularly high amongst elementary students.
“It’s definitely interesting to see the change, but it’s difficult to say what it all means,” said Ryan Bird, spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board.
The drop in attendance came after Premier Doug Ford warned Jan. 3 of a “tsunami” of COVID-19 cases, and forced schools after the holiday to resume virtually Jan. 5 until at least Jan. 17. Schools are set to resume in-person next week.
The shuttering of schools, days after the province assured Ontarians they would reopen in-person, frustrated many parents. Some took to social media, using the hashtag #dontlogon, vowing to boycott remote learning, saying it’s too stressful for young children and working parents.
Toronto father Karl Halbgewachs kept his Grade 2 son out of virtual learning, with no reason provided to the TDSB, as a way of pressuring the province to get back to in-person learning.
“We felt that the two weeks (of remote learning) the government announced would turn into four weeks, then two months, then four months and then we’d be at June,” he said.
Halbgewachs isn’t concerned about learning loss for his son, noting they can make that up at home, but rather the loss of socializing with his peers at school.
According to the TDSB, on Jan. 5 the top reasons for full-day absences at elementary schools, and the number of students away, were: No reason provided: 10,636; other: 3,337; illness: 1,238; vacation: 1,025; and family: 763. Among high school students, 5,212 were absent for no reason; 160 listed other; 152 were on vacation; 137 were ill and 107 were excused.
Over the next two days, similar numbers were absent for the same reasons. On Jan. 6, there were 8,158 elementary students away with no reason provided, and the next day 9,050 were absent with no reason.
“There are a number of ‘no reason’ entries. As such, it’s difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from the data, however we would anticipate that many would include self-isolations given the rapidly rising number of COVID cases,” said Bird.
When asked if some parents opted not to log their kids on to virtual learning because it was too challenging to manage working from home with online learning, Bird said, “I haven’t heard directly that.”
“But I’m sure there are some parents within that data that chose to do that. Unfortunately, we don’t have any definitive hard data.”
For comparison, the TDSB provided absenteeism figures for an average day. On Nov. 17, the top five reasons of full-day absences in elementary schools were illness: 3,655; other: 2,455; no reason: 2,272; family: 778 and doctor’s appointment: 698.
Meanwhile in high schools, 4,195 provided no reason, 620 said illness, 386 said other, 133 were excused and 106 had a medical appointment.
Figures related to absenteeism are for all students, including those registered for in-person and online learning. As of November, about 144,000 elementary students were
doing in-person learning, and 18,000 were in virtual learning. At the secondary level, about 64,000 students were in-person and 7,000 learning online.
Betty-Lynn Orton teaches at High Park Alternative Junior School, which has about 150 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, and says attendance was bad last week, but has “gotten even worse this week.”
Orton is a prep teacher, who teaches gym, drama, dance and music to students from Kindergarten to Grade 3, and a special education resource teacher for Grades 1-8. Typically, one or two children in the primary division are absent at her school. But since the start of remote learning, “it’s quite extraordinary how many kids aren’t there ... There are some (absences) explained, but for many of them we don’t know.”
Last week, older students alone at home would connect during resource time “just to have company ... This week, I haven’t seen any.”
Last week, Mississauga mom Amy Hekimgil-De Sousa logged her sons, aged six and four, on for class. But it was challenging for the boys, who didn’t want to participate. Not wanting to force them in front of the screen, Hekimgil-De Sousa kept them out of virtual learning this week. She told the school they would be away on vacation.
She’s kept them up with letters and numbers assignments at home, so she’s not worried about learning loss. She’s most concerned about the impact remote learning is having on their social and mental wellbeing. “They need their friends and teachers,” she says. “I was really happy when I found out they were going back to school.”
Shuttering of schools, days after the province assured Ontarians they would reopen in-person, frustrated many parents