Some Ontario schools missed nearly 1 month because of snow days this winter

Naama Weingarten · CBC News

· Posted: May 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

Some Ontario children missed astir a period of schoolhouse this wintertime due to the fact that of snowfall days — an interaction they're apt present feeling, educators say, arsenic teachers unreserved to get done the remaining program earlier the world twelvemonth ends.

Winter conditions kept students location successful parts of southwestern and cardinal Ontario for up to 27 days implicit the past year. 

In immoderate cases, that was due to the fact that the schoolhouse itself closed, portion successful others, it was due to the fact that schoolhouse buses were cancelled. Provincewide, upwards of 830,000 children trust connected these buses to get to and from their schools, according to the non-profit School Bus Ontario.

"It surely presents challenges to learning," said Christopher Walkling, a main with the Near North District School Board.

Walkling told CBC Toronto the fig of snowfall days this twelvemonth was higher than successful caller years. However, it was acold from record-breaking.

The Near North committee is 1 of 4 that relies connected buses provided by Nipissing Parry Sound Student Transportation Services (NPSSTS), which shuttles children to schoolhouse successful Parry Sound, West Nipissing, North Bay, East Ferris and Mattawa. 

Bus cancellations owed to snowfall were location-dependent and ranged betwixt 14 and 26 days during the 2024-2025 world year, a spokesperson told CBC Toronto. That's not rather arsenic precocious arsenic the 2021-2022 world year, which saw cancellations ranging betwixt 29 and 43 days.

Impact connected students unclear 

Record-breaking oregon not, those Ontario figures are "extraordinarily high," said Joshua Goodman, an subordinate prof astatine Boston University who studied the interaction of snowfall days connected pupil occurrence successful Massachusetts.

Goodman utilized information connected schoolhouse show and closures successful astir fractional of Massachusetts nationalist schools from 2003 to 2010.

"There's astir nary satellite successful which we could ever person that level of disruption," Goodman said.

Teachers faced with 'difficult decisions'

Mike Foulds, president of the Ontario Teachers' Federation, says he's seen it firsthand.

The Owen Sound precocious schoolhouse wherever Foulds usually teaches societal sciences astatine the Bluewater District School Board had 27 snowfall days this twelvemonth — the highest fig of snowfall days the schoolhouse has seen successful the past decade, according to a tracking dashboard his workfellow created.

It's 1 of respective schools in Grey and Bruce counties with that galore snowfall days, according to the schoolhouse board.

Meanwhile, Foulds said, astir teachers relationship for possibly 10 to 15 snowfall days.

"Math and science, those teachers are going to beryllium struggling to marque definite concepts are covered. Their curriculums are reasonably packed and they physique upon each other," helium said.

"You spot a batch much hard decisions happening successful those departments."

That's successful summation to the disruption during the snowfall days themselves. At Owen Sound District Secondary School, Foulds said exams were cancelled arsenic a effect of 5 snowfall days successful a enactment — leaving students to take betwixt a constitution trial oregon finishing with the people they already had.

Problem — and solutions — hard to quantify

The immense bulk of snowfall days are caused by idiosyncratic autobus routes being cancelled, with afloat schoolhouse closures being much rare. As the fig of those snow days stacked up successful antithetic regions, it's hard to accidental precisely however galore students person been impacted provincewide. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Minister of Education said teachers and principles are liable for making definite students enactment connected track. 

"With improvements successful distant learning, immoderate boards are encouraged to pivot to distant learning during inclement weather. All boards are required to pass their policies with parents and students arsenic soon arsenic they tin to minimize disruption to learning," Emma Testani said. 

WATCH | Impact of COVID-19 connected pupil learning lingers years aft lockdowns:

When it comes to making the astir of snowfall days, antithetic schools and schoolhouse boards instrumentality antithetic approaches.

Bluewater District School Board told CBC Toronto its precocious schoolhouse classes displacement to online learning erstwhile buses are cancelled but teachers usage the clip to reappraisal concepts they already taught. The committee besides aims to keep elementary schools unfastened portion opting not to thatch caller worldly determination either. 

Meanwhile at Near North District School Board, Walkings says each schoolhouse has its ain unsocial attack since virtual learning isn't ever possible, peculiarly successful much distant communities without high-speed internet.

"It's an ongoing concern," Walking said. "Certainly, it becomes a speech astir equity of access."