The Ontario government says it is focusing on science, technology, engineering and math in education — but an analysis of two of the province’s largest boards show those courses are being squeezed out as secondary schools grapple with larger classes and fewer teachers.

Data from the York Region and Toronto public boards shows the number of STEM classes on offer is taking a big hit this fall.

In the York Region District School Board — which covers Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s own riding — of the 120 cancelled classes, 23 are STEM-related, and a further 10 are in business studies. Among the 38 “reduced” class offerings, STEM subjects represent more than half.

In the Toronto District School Board, of 313 cancelled classes, more than 80 are STEM courses, or 26 per cent.

Of 304 classes that will run with more students or combined grades, about 140 are science, tech and math classes, representing 46 per cent overall — almost half.

“These are decisions we are forced into making because of the 28-to-one class size,” said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, referring to the province’s move from the current average of 22 students per class in high schools to an average of 28, leading to the loss of thousands of teaching positions.

“I just know by casually looking at any school board that has put out their lists (of cancelled classes), that seems to be what it is. It does have mostly to do with the fact that those are the classes that not every single student has to have as a graduation requirement.”

Enrolment is typically lower for those STEM classes, especially in the senior years, and schools struggle to run them because every small class means another, bigger class must offset it to maintain the average.

But she said boards are now working to ensure that if students need such courses for post-secondary studies, other options are available.

One Scarborough high school cancelled Grade 12 computer science after only about a dozen students enrolled — a class it would have run in the past — and if a student needs the credit for post-secondary studies, they will be directed online or to night school.

A number of schools have cancelled Grade 12 earth and space science, or Grade 12 physics. A host of tech classes, which are always smaller for safety reasons, have also been impacted.

“Right now, it is very frustrating for all of us,” added Abraham.

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As boards are quick to point out, classes are cancelled every year based on student interest. But this year, there are more — creating a huge disconnect between the government’s focus and reality, said Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

“This is exactly what we warned of when the government announced on March 15 its intention to slash one-quarter of Ontario’s high school positions,” said Bischof. “Their claim of wanting to improve access to STEM classes is completely at odds with the cuts they are imposing. Ontario students will lose out.”

Lecce has said class cancellations are board decisions, not those of his ministry.

His spokesperson, Stephanie Rea, said in a statement to the Star that “our government has been clear about our commitment towards reforming the outdated education system left to us by the previous government. Regardless of the changes we make, our objective and central focus of any reform to the education system remains the same: student success.”

Rea said “our mission is to ensure our young people can develop the skills they need in a modern economy and help them find good jobs in Ontario,” and noted the revamped Grade 10 careers studies program looks at financial literacy as well as employment in the skilled trades and STEM.

“The Ministry of Education does have attrition protection in place to ensure school boards can continue to offer specialized courses that require specialized teachers and/or smaller class sizes,” she said of a $1.6-billion fund that over the next four years will help boards deal with the loss of teaching positions and avoid layoffs — money that could be used to bring in a teacher with specialized training.

“As well, an additional 5 per cent job protection is being provided to further support the staffing complement for the continuity of STEM and specialized programming. This means boards are being provided with 105 per cent job protection funding.”

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But NDP education critic Marit Stiles said while Lecce speaks about the importance of modernizing education, “what, in fact, we are seeing is that those classes — those ones that speak to new technology and also the ones that lead to careers in skilled trades — are the ones that are being lost.

“Students are seeing the doors to those opportunities being closed shut … I would hope that the government sees this as a wake-up call,” she said

She’s heard from parents whose teens can’t get the Grade 12 courses they need for post-secondary studies, STEM or not.

With many electives being lost, students are losing “courses that challenge them, that allow them to explore new fields” and figure out what kind of studies they’d like to pursue after graduation.

“The proof is there — the courses don’t exist, and they aren’t coming back. And this is just year one” of a four-year reduction, she noted.

In the York Region District School Board, among the 120 cancelled classes are 15 in arts/music/drama, 16 in social sciences/humanities, 26 in Canadian/world studies, nine phys-ed and eight English classes. Science and math are the top two “reduced” offerings.

Leslie Wolfe, president of the secondary school teachers union local for the Toronto District School Board, said the government is “negatively impacting students’ opportunity in the very area (it) claims is an economic priority,” which in the long term will hurt their employment as well as the economy.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board will offer about 120 fewer classes this fall overall. While it does not have a breakdown by subject, some of the cancelled classes at individual schools include accounting, biology, business leadership, chemistry, computer programming/science, information and communication technology, earth and space science, physics and environmental science.

David Boag, associate director of education at the Halton District School Board, said while it has likely cancelled more classes for this upcoming school year than in the past, it tried to avoid doing so by combining classes with smaller numbers.

Students can also often cross-register at another school nearby if a class such as Grade 12 physics isn’t offered at their home school, he added.

“Tech courses are often vulnerable,” he said. “With science they are not vulnerable if they are core courses” — but they are in the senior years when they no longer mandatory.

“We have larger classes, and I can say that definitively,” Boag said. “We have more split classes going into next year, which is a way of saving those classes” by combining Grade 10 and 11 construction, for example.

“If you’ve got fewer teachers, there are fewer courses you can offer,” he said. “... The optional courses are the vulnerable ones, there’s no question.”

In May, the Peel District School Board said the most affected courses are “at the senior level, and in the arts, technological education, and social sciences and humanities. However, we are also seeing cancelled courses in business, computer studies, mathematics, and science at a higher rate than we would have seen in previous years ... The elimination or reduction of these courses can decrease student engagement, which is directly linked to student achievement, credit acquisition and, ultimately, the ability to graduate.”

​Amal Qayum, president of the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association — which represents the province’s two million public school students — said courses such as construction or refrigeration “where there’s a huge job market … those courses are very expensive to run … you can’t have 35 kids in an auto class.”