More than 50 children who have fled Ukraine and landed in Toronto are now enrolled at public Ukrainian speaking schools in Toronto and the surrounding area, local school boards say.
There are four public schools in and around Toronto that teach students in Ukrainian. The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) runs three Ukrainian schools and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) operates one.
The province said it expects around 40,000 Ukrainians to arrive in Ontario under emergency travel authorization.
St. Demetrius Catholic School, Josyf Cardinal Slipyj Catholic School and St. Josephat Catholic School are all public Ukrainian schools in Toronto. St. Sofia Separate School is located in Mississauga.
The website for Josyf Cardinal Slipyj Catholic School says academic programs include half a day of teaching in Ukrainian for kindergarten students and 30 minutes per day for children in grades one to eight.
“As of last Friday, we have 32 new students from Ukraine at three of our Ukrainian schools,” a spokesperson for the TCDSB told Global News.
A total of 26 students from Ukraine are attending schools operated by DPCDSB, a spokesperson said. Of that number, 20 are attending St. Sofia.
In an announcement Wednesday, the Ford government unveiled a range of new measures to support Ukrainians arriving in Ontario.
A dedicated hotline has been created to connect Ukrainian refugees with employers, while provincial health coverage has been expended to cover Ukrainians.
Elementary and second school-aged children will be able to attend publicly funded schools for free.
— with files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca