Durham District School Board announces several school closures due to storm

Several schools in Durham Region and one in Toronto will be keeping their doors shut on Tuesday as communities continue to clean up after the deadly storm that hit the province on Saturday.

The Durham District School board said due to power outages, eight schools are closed to staff and students, and because electricity is the issue, there will be no remote learning for those students at the schools listed. (Full list below)

“The decision to close these schools has been made to protect the health and safety of students, parents/guardians and staff as electricity is needed to safely operate a school,” the board said in a statement.

RELATED: Clean-up continues after Ontario storm leaves 10 dead, thousands without power

While there are four schools in Uxbridge closed (see below), the board said other schools in the township will be open because they had power restored and the municipality asked it to operate as many schools as possible to support families.

Here’s a list of the eight schools remaining closed on Tuesday, May 24:

Uxbridge

• Uxbridge SS
• Uxbridge PS
• Joseph Gould PS
• Goodwood PS

Ajax

• Lincoln Avenue PS
• Southwood Park PS

Whitby

• E.A. Fairman PS

Pickering 

• Valley View PS

Unfortunately, we have just received confirmation that 1 phase of the power has not yet been restored to @southwoodparkps Though the lights and security/fire panel are working, the ventilation system is not.
This means the school must stay closed for today. https://t.co/jMXel3YPIQ

— Durham District School Board (DDSB) (@DDSBSchools) May 24, 2022

The Toronto District School Board also confirmed one school would be closed to in-person learning on Tuesday. The board says AY Jackson Secondary School in North York has moved to asynchronous learning for the day.

Due to a power outage at the school, AY Jackson Secondary School has moved to asynchronous learning for Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

— Toronto District School Board (@tdsb) May 24, 2022

The DDSB said it will be monitoring staff attendance Tuesday morning and if there is not enough staff to operate a school, it will notify families through social media and school messenger that the school will be closed for that reason.

“The municipalities of Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby have all confirmed that they are not concerned with schools in these areas being open if there is power to the school,” the board said,” Municipalities will also be clearing debris in public parks and on municipal property.”

As for what’s next, it said the goal is to see schools reopen on Wednesday, but if it’s not possible, the board said schools will communicate with families directly.

“There may be some debris on school property tomorrow. School custodians and DDSB service providers will be clearing downed trees, broken branches and debris in schoolyards. There may be some modifications to recess and lunch time based on this impact,” the DDSB said.

The board is also reminding those in the area to stay away from debris and to stay 10 metres away from a downed powerline if you come across one.