Teacher absences are on the rise in Ontario, raising concerns about violence, burnout and gaps in learning
Teacher absences in Ontario have increased significantly since the pandemic, raising concerns about violence, burnout, and gaps in student learning. Many educators attribute this rise to worsening classroom conditions and a lack of support. The financial burden of covering these absences has also escalated, surpassing $1 billion in costs for the current school year.
- ▪In the 2023-24 school year, secondary-school teachers took an average of 13.07 sick days, up from 11.05 days in 2018-19.
- ▪Elementary teachers took 15.36 sick days, an increase from 12.79 days in the previous period.
- ▪Educational assistants recorded the highest number of sick days at 22.01, up from 18.19.
- ▪The costs to cover teacher and educational assistant sick days have risen by more than 50 percent, exceeding $1.018 billion.
- ▪The total value of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claims from Ontario's school boards more than doubled between 2018 and 2025.
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Last year, when she ran to the school bathroom crying uncontrollably after months of things in her classroom only getting worse, a Toronto teacher said she knew she couldn’t go back.Soon after, she decided to take a leave of absence for this school year, said the teacher, whom The Globe and Mail is not naming to protect her from reprisals from her employer. A homeroom teacher for 10 years in Toronto, the woman said she had been struggling to deal with a student who had severe ADHD. “There were some weeks when he was okay, and some weeks it was just total chaos,” the teacher said.
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