Families who enrolled their children in the TDSB’s virtual French immersion stream have been told their kids may not be able to remain — and might not get back into the face-to-face program at their homeschool if it’s full.

On Tuesday, the Toronto District School Board sent a letter to families saying “approximately 80 French teachers are still required,” and that it was looking for “options” for the thousands of families that have yet to be assigned a teacher.

“We continue to explore options to meet the need for FI/EF (extended French) classrooms. However, as has been noted in prior updates, there is an ongoing shortage of French teachers across Ontario,” said the release. “This is a concerning situation for all and we acknowledge that some students have yet to be assigned a teacher. We are looking at options and will continue to keep families updated.

“For those students applying to switch from Virtual School to In-School Learning, the ability to accommodate this request will depend on the availability of French teachers in the student’s FI/EF school.”

The same letter told parents that Wednesday was the first deadline for parent to switch from online to virtual school or vice versa, even though thousands of children have yet to be with a teacher.

On Tuesday, the ministry issued a statement saying it was taking action to recruit and retain more French teachers.

Lisa Curran-Lehman, a mother of three, says she is furious at the way the board informed parents about the problems with French immersion.

“When we signed up for virtual, we were told our kids could stay in French immersion, and they could switch back in at certain dates,” she said. “And instead it’s October tomorrow, and my kids don’t have teachers because they are short 80 French immersion teachers for the foreseeable future … and there is no end in sight.

“It has a lot of us concerned about will our kids be able to stay in the program, because you can’t leave French immersion and then come back,” she said. “But we aren’t voluntarily leaving, so there is a lot of concern about what will this mean for our kids’ … who have invested years into this program.”

Curran-Lehman said she opted to switch her kids from virtual school to in-person before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. deadline “out of fear of them losing their spot in FI.”

She said she filed a complaint against the TDSB with the provincial ombudsman Wednesday over its handling of the program. “I’m really frustrated with the TDSB for offering us choices, and then changing the rules as they go.”

Melissa Fuhr said her daughter in SK hasn’t been attached to a teacher yet, and she doesn’t know if she will get one.

“If she isn’t placed with an immersion teacher virtually this year, there is a danger that she won’t be accepted into the French immersion program whenever school resumes,” she said.

“I feel strongly about keeping them home, even if I have to sacrifice a year, but my main problem is not knowing potentially if she will get back into in-person immersion when that time comes,” she said. “That would be unacceptable to me.”

The TDSB didn’t respond to questions about the long-term implications of not getting connected to a French immersion class this year.

But on her Facebook page, Ward 14 Trustee Trixie May Doyle tried to reassure parents. “After Covid, not knowing how long that will be, we will need to assess and review French enrolments, program placements, French staffing, and ministry requirements for each French program,” she said. “In consultation with the Ministry, we will endeavour to honour all current TDSB programs.

“This does not apply to students who leave the system or those who choose to switch to the English program.”

In a Facebook posted Tuesday, Doyle also elaborated on the shortage: “Most of the French vacancies are in SK and grades 4-8; most of the primary are filled,” she said. “We are considering creative solutions for FI/EF to meet needs. For example, increase class sizes in primary (however that could be disruptive to families, as most classes are filled there).”

Karen Brackley said she is still waiting for her Grade 5 son to be connected to a French immersion teachers, and has been struggling to help her son with independent work he has been assigned that is all in French.

“A lot of parents are being forced to make a decision between what’s healthy for our children, or do we stay with French,” she said. “The TDSB has really put us in a bad position.”

The province says it has provided boards with COVID-19 funding to hire teachers needed to help create smaller classes or to cover the demand for virtual classes, though boards have warned that during the they might not be able to offer all optional programs.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province has spent $36 million “to support ‘Zoom-style’ synchronous learning (that will) deliver a better educational experience for students.”

Caitlin Clark said individual boards “have developed plans that best suit their local needs. We encourage and support French-language education and will continue delivering historic investments for the benefit and safety of all students.”

A memo from the ministry to the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, obtained by the Star, said “school boards will be experiencing increased absenteeism by teachers and administrative staff. Hence, the demand for supply teachers and principals is expected to be higher this year, against a backdrop of smaller occasional teacher pools.”

The province is asking the federation to support a temporary suspension of the 50-working-day maximum for retired teachers and administrators to help boost staffing levels.

“We also understand that the (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) has received inquiries from pensioners asking about whether the 50-day re-employment limit will be reconsidered for the 2020-21 school year. This is indicative of the interest from pensioners to have the flexibility to work a longer duration without having their pensions impacted,” says the memo from deputy education minister Nancy Naylor.

“We believe suspending the limit would work to incentivize recently retired teachers and principals to return on an occasional basis to assist schools with staffing shortages.”

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: