Thorncliffe Park school half empty amid sex-ed protest

Children take lessons from parents in Thorncliffe Park on Tuesday as hundreds of parents keep their kids
out of class in protest of Ontario's new sex-ed curriculum being rolled out this fall.

Thorncliffe Park school was half-empty on the first day of school, as parents vowed to keep their kids out of the classroom until the provincial government ditches its new sex-ed curriculum.

Principal Jeff Crane had expected 1,460 students at his school, which offers Grade 1 through Grade 5. Instead, 781 showed up as classes resumed on Tuesday.

Parents instead took their kids to the park behind the school, where volunteers split them by grade and taught math and other subjects in the morning.

Crane called the situation “unprecedented” and said at one point in the morning, a line-up formed outside the school, near Don Mills Rd. and Overlea Blvd., where parents handed in different form letters notifying that their children would be absent from school until further notice.

Crane said if enrolment doesn't go back to normal levels by the end of the month he is looking at "significant cuts" to his 89-member teaching staff.  (more...)

Thorncliffe Park school half empty amid sex-ed protest

Appreciation for @krushowy for actually writing a story, as opposed to the cut-and-paste from Canadian Press you see in all the other outlets.