Teachers express alarm about ‘disastrous’ decisions by Toronto District School Board
Eight teachers at a school in Toronto’s east end have been suspended without pay, according to a report. The suspensions affect all mainstream Grade 7 and 8 homeroom classes and more than 200 students, reports Toronto Today.
The development intensifies disruption at Bowmore Road Junior and Senior Public School, which is already reeling from the departure of its principal, a vice‑principal and two other teachers, according to the report.
Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) president Helen Victoros said the local union will contest both the suspensions and the earlier terminations.
“We believe this discipline is unjust, and the union will be taking every step to challenge and have it overturned as quickly as possible,” Victoros said, according to the report. She previously told Toronto Today the union is also working to overturn the firing of the two Bowmore educators.
'Unprecedented' suspension of teachers
In a message to members, the ETT said the suspension of the eight teachers is “unprecedented”.
“These are beloved teachers in their community,” the group said.
“Decisions from the [Toronto District School Board] TDSB while under provincial supervision – like increased class sizes, cuts to special education supports, zero transparency in decision-making, and an escalation in punitive measures against the very staff who make this system work – have been disastrous for students and staff alike.”
Meanwhile, parents and community members have rallied around the affected teachers. A fundraiser launched to support the two dismissed staff has collected nearly $14,000 in about a week, and a separate letter‑writing campaign has delivered roughly 600 messages of support from current and former students and parents to Bowmore educators, including those facing discipline.
The latest measures follow a tense parent council meeting on Jan. 14, where families raised alarms about a perceived rise in student violence at the school. Less than 24 hours after that meeting, two middle school teachers were dismissed, and parents were told the principal “will no longer be at” Bowmore, according to Toronto Today.
About a week later, a vice‑principal was also said to “no longer be” at the school. Toronto Today reported that the TDSB has not clarified whether those administrators were fired, reassigned or resigned.
In October 2025, more than 51,000 members of The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) went on strike, marking the largest labour walkout ever, according to Jason Foster, a labour relations professor at Athabasca University.
Board response and communication to families
TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said the board is “committed to ensuring that all our schools are safe places to learn and work” and is “actively working to address parents’ concerns, including bringing in additional supports to the school,” according to the Toronto Today article. He added that the board is “very limited in what we can share about personnel matters for both privacy and legal reasons.”
Families learned of the latest staff changes through letters sent Thursday by interim principal Beverly Muir. The notes, obtained by Toronto Today, informed parents that their child’s homeroom teacher is “currently away” and provided a return date for each educator. The letters did not refer to suspensions or disciplinary action. They listed the names of temporary teachers assigned to each class and stated that the arrangements “will ensure continuity of learning and stability for students during this time.”
Parents say the reality in classrooms has been far from stable, especially for students with special education needs.
Dispute over teaching model and ‘workplace action’
Several parents, along with trustee and Bowmore parent Michelle Aarts, believe the suspensions stem from a dispute over a change in instructional models for Bowmore’s middle school grades, rather than from the allegations of student violence.
For years, Grade 7 and 8 teachers at Bowmore worked in pairs under a “team teaching” model, splitting subjects between them for each grade. A letter from the superintendent to parents said school administrators decided last year to move to a structure in which homeroom teachers deliver all subjects to their own students. Toronto Today reported that the shift was intended to standardise practice across the school.
Aarts and Bowmore parent council co‑chair Jenn Engels told Toronto Today the change was poorly communicated. When the school year began in September, middle school staff continued using team teaching. After the principal became aware, teachers were directed to move to the new homeroom‑based model. As they adjusted, some educators temporarily reduced extracurricular activities to manage the additional teaching load, according to several parents.
Aarts said the board later issued disciplinary notices to 10 teachers, accusing them of having engaged in “an inappropriate workplace action”. Engels said she does not believe the discipline is related to failures to protect students, and told Toronto Today that members of the school’s safe and caring schools committee felt “their concerns about safety were not taken seriously by the administration.”
Previously, a University of Toronto professor was placed on leave after making a controversial comment on social media in the aftermath of the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
