The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) says it issued layoff notices on Thursday “to approximately 50 Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) due to low registration in our Kindergarten program.”
The layoffs come nearly two weeks after the board revealed that about 95 per cent of students had indicated they wanted to return to in-person learning come September.
Students in the board, which has schools in London, Middlesex County, Elgin County and Oxford County, will still be accommodated should they wish to continue learning online.
“As vaccination rates increase and the pandemic eases, we are hopeful many parents will choose to send their children to school,” said the TVDSB in a statement sent to Global News.
“Many ECEs may be recalled in September.”
As of Thursday morning, a total of 416 ECEs are listed as working across 132 elementary schools in the board, according to the TVDSB’s website.
The board serves more than 55,000 elementary students.