TORONTO -- Thousands of students will be out of class today as all Ontario's Catholic teachers hit the picket lines, as well as high school and elementary teachers in select boards.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association is holding its second provincewide strike today after holding contract talks with the government on Monday, but no deal was reached and no further dates for talks are scheduled.

Meanwhile elementary teachers will engage in their second day of ramped up rotating strikes, hitting more school boards per day than they did during the job actions they held over the past two weeks.

The escalation comes after three long days of renewed contract talks between the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario and the province broke off late Friday.

Today, ETFO is targeting the Avon Maitland, Durham, Hastings-Prince Edward, Lambton Kent, Peel, Rainbow, Thames Valley and Upper Grand school boards as well as Campbell Children's School Authority, and is planning a provincewide strike on Thursday.

High school teachers will strike at the Lakehead, Lambton Kent, Thames Valley, Waterloo Region, York Region, Halton and Kawartha Pine Ridge school boards.