Parents at Toronto elementary school speak out about reorganization process

The peaceful demonstration held at Lynnwood Heights Junior Public School on Monday morning. (Parents at Lynnwood Heights)

Parents at a Scarborough elementary school say their concerns about classroom changes made as part of an annual reorganization process are being ignored by the Toronto District School Board’s provincially-appointed supervisor and they are unsure about where to go for help.

For its part, however, a spokesperson for the TDSB says the supervisor—Rohit Gupta—has “been working closely with staff to address the matter” and that “staff have responded on his behalf.”

It is all part of the fallout from a reorganization process that parents say has been particularly difficult to navigate this year without trustees in place to hear their concerns.

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Katherine Seiter says her son, who entered the fifth grade at Lynnwood Heights Junior Public School this year, came home crying last Thursday after learning his teacher would be transferred to another school.

“It’s the third year in a row that he hasn’t had a stable teacher, and he got quite attached to this one,” Seiter told CTV News Toronto.

Seiter, the former secretary of Lynnwood’s school council, said parents were anticipating for some change to come as a result of the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) reorganization this year, but they weren’t prepared for the children’s strong reactions to their teacher being transferred out of their school.

“We knew that they’d be upset but we weren’t anticipating last week for it to be that. They were all very visibly upset, so it was pretty horrible,” Seiter said.

Every September, the TDSB reviews how many students are enrolled in each classroom to ensure it meets the provincial requirements and reorganizes their classrooms and resources accordingly—which can look like a variety of things from students being moved to a different classroom or placed in a combined class, or having a new teacher.

For this school year, the TDSB said it would be looking at actual student enrolment and would strive to meet the provincial requirement of 24.5 students in each class in grades 4 to 8. Typically the TDSB kept elementary class sizes below the average, with about 24.1 students in each class based off the last school year’s statistics.

On Count Day, on Sept. 11, the TDSB recorded how many students were enrolled and this year, their count was roughly 3,000 students below their projections in the spring.

“They counted bums in seats, they were trying to find efficiencies where they could, and in order to get more students in each class, they collapsed a few classrooms and one of them resulted in the loss of their beloved teacher,” Jennifer Huang, organizer for the Fund Our Schools program told CTV News Toronto.

Conrad Hartmann, who has two children attending Lynnwood, said the parents, children, and staff at the school are a “tight-knit group” because it is a smaller school, so they knew in the spring they would be impacted by the annual TDSB reorganization.

“Because of that, I think the number was like … three kids or something, that we might lose one of our teachers, and the school would undergo a reorganization. So, the parents got together and started a group chat, and parents were talking about what we can do,” Hartmann said, noting there wasn’t a school board trustee to speak with anymore.

In June, the province decided to step in to directly manage four school boards, including the TDSB, to address ongoing “financial mismanagement.”

• READ MORE: Ontario taking over 4 school boards, including TDSB, following spending probes

Hartmann also shared with CTV News Toronto that Lynnwood is one of the 150 TDSB schools part of the model schools program.

“A lot of our kids, English is not their first language, it’s not spoken at home, and so that extra level or layer of support that they really benefit from by having the smaller class sizes and more individualized attention from the teacher, that advantage is being taken from them, creating more barriers,” Hartmann said.

Dozens of parents wrote personalized letters on Sept. 14 to the school’s principal, superintendent, and the TDSB Supervisor Rohit Gupta, Hartmann says, marking a coordinated effort to have their concerns heard.

In Hartmann’s email, reviewed by CTV News Toronto, he implored school officials reconsider this decision, underscored the impact this teacher has already had on his son’s life in the first month of school following years of instability throughout the Grade 5 student’s school career.

“While I understand that staffing decisions must be made across the system, I ask that you look beyond the raw enrollment numbers and carefully consider the impact on our children—particularly the need for stability,” Hartmann said, who noted his son had three different teachers in Grade 3 and two different teachers in Grade 4.

This teacher, despite having the lowest seniority at the school, made an “extraordinary difference” on the lives of Lynnwood’s students—something Hartmann said parents noticed quickly.

“This is a moment where the TDSB has an opportunity to prioritize student well-being and choose what is best for children: stability and the chance to thrive. Please do not undermine this progress by removing a teacher who has already proven to be a vital part of our school’s success,” the letter concludes.

But Hartmann and Seiter said they were met with silence, with not a single parent hearing a response from the TDSB supervisor. CTV News Toronto contacted Gupta and the ministry of education for comment.

Sandy Liang, whose child attends the Scarborough public school, says he has tearfully asked her the following: “Mom, who can help us now?”

“This was the last straw,” Seiter said, which prompted parents to organize a peaceful walk-in at the school on Monday morning.

In photos shared with CTV News Toronto, parents and students alike can be seen holding various signs, with slogans like, “Smaller classes, stronger kids!” and “Stop ignoring our kids’ education” among the posters. Some even held up emoji-like posters with the icon’s mouth crossed out and the TDSB emblazoned above.

Seiter recalled teachers coming out in support too, with motorists honking at their horns in support of their demonstration.

“It was wonderful. All the kids came and even community members that no longer have kids at Lynnwood, but who have been in the community for years, they joined to show their support,” Hartmann said.

All of the parents that CTV News Toronto has spoken with expressed their hopes that their concerns will be heard and that they will hear from the TDSB supervisor and reverse the changes made to the school’s staffing.

“We understand budgets are being cut, but children’s education quality and needs must never be ignored,” Liang said.

Rebecca Greaves, an educational consultant and CEO of the Parent Advocate, tells CTV News Toronto that, in the absence of school board trustees, it is imperative for parents to voice their concerns by reaching out to their board superintendent, director of education, the TDSB supervisor and minister of education—like how Lynnwood’s parents had.

“Reorganization is a board-level operation and I think most parents, they’re not privy to that, and this is where we see parent frustration and parent anger often being directed at the school itself, because they’re not aware that this is out of the hands of the school,” Greaves said.

“I don’ t want parents to just continue to sit and be angry, because that doesn’t benefit anyone, that doesn’t drive anything.. Sending the emails and speaking up and speaking to the MPP and really trying to put some pressure on our political party here to do what they’re saying, which is, ‘We’re in favour of smaller class sizes, we’re in favour of a strong public education system.’”

Majority of TDSB schools had some level of reorganization

Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) told CTV News Toronto that more teachers been moved from their schools this year and were given “entirely different assignments with very little to no time to prepare than at any time in recent memory.”

“This is not good for teachers and certainly not for students. More than 300 teachers have been taken out of their schools and moved,” Helen Victoros, president of ETT, said in an email. “We’re hearing almost every school is dealing with this.”

A spokesperson for the TDSB confirmed to CTV News Toronto that 441 elementary schools out of 470, just shy of 94 per cent, saw some level of reorganization this school year. This is eight schools more than what was seen at the TDSB in 2024.

“We understand that changes such as receiving a new teacher or moving to a different classroom can be unexpected, but we’re committed to supporting students and families through the process,” Ryan Bird of the TDSB told CTV News Toronto.

“As is the case for elementary schools in TDSB and across the province, Lynnwood Heights is undergoing reorganization to balance classes—something that occurs each year. As always, we will support students and parents through this process.”

How has TDSB’s reorganization this year impacted your child’s school? Were you able to voice your concerns about what’s happening without a school board trustee? CTV News Toronto wants to hear from you.

Share your story by emailing us at [e-mail] with your name, general location, and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTV News Toronto story.