On Monday afternoon, Waterloo Catholic, Wellington Catholic, Upper Grand and CSC MonAvenir schools all said they were ready to welcome students to in-person learning the next day, now that Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) staff members are returning to work. The union, which represents thousands of Ontario education workers, said it has a commitment from Premier Doug Ford to write down Bill 28. The legislation, which was passed last week, would have imposed a contract on workers and made it illegal to their strike. The government said it was willing to withdraw Bill 28 because CUPE had agreed to take the strike threat off the table and return to the bargaining table.

Waterloo Catholic District School Board

The school board said Monday that all of its schools, including St. Louis, will be open as normal on Tuesday. Extended day programs will resume, as will school buses and taxis. “Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition to distance education,” the school board wrote in a message to parents. “We pray that both sides will quickly reach a fair and just collective agreement that serves everyone’s best interests.”

Upper Great District School Board

The board had planned to switch to distance learning on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the agreement between CUPE and the Ontario government means all students will continue to learn in person this week. CUPE workers on this board do custodial and maintenance work and run the boards’ English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for students and adults. The council said all ESL classes in the council’s continuing education program will resume on November 8 and community use of the schools will resume on November 9.

Wellington Catholic District School Board

The school board said face-to-face learning will continue Tuesday, as will before and after programs. He said extra-curricular activities and community use of school holidays would also resume. “We look forward to having our custodians and maintenance staff back at work tomorrow and are grateful for their work in our schools every day,” the school board said in an online statement.

MonAvenir Catholic School Board

The school board said that since CUPE announced its members will return to work Tuesday morning, its schools in south-central Ontario will reopen.