Principal’s conduct under investigation

Parents file complaints with York Board over school assembly content

The conduct of a Keswick elementary school principal is being investigated after the tone and content of an assembly last month sparked outrage from concerned parents.

Numerous formal complaints were filed with the York Region District School Board after Lake Simcoe Public School principal Angelie Barkey allegedly “lost it” on Grade 4 to 8 students during the Day of Pink — Anti Bullying assembly on April 11.

According to complaints, Barkey, who has been the school’s principal for the past four years, displayed a list of offensive names and graphic curse words that she didn’t want to hear the kids say, including phrases “Suck my d---” and “N-----,” that she censored with spaces inserted for certain letters.

“Yes, those last two words were written exactly as I have written them,” wrote one of many shocked parents who sent letters to school board superintendent Dianne Hawkins. “And I agree, these words are not OK. They’re also NOT OK to project them on a screen for students to see.”

Barkey could not be reached for comment.

Another wrote while they expect their child may ask about words heard in the street or schoolyard, they were appalled to have their son ask about such language presented to him by the principal of his school.

Several students were also left “traumatized” and had to be led out of the auditorium by the teachers, according to the complaints, after Barkey “threatened and intimidated” students to make her point.

“I am not clear on what provoked her wrath, but my son described her as having ‘lost it’ on the kids, yelling and screaming at them that ‘this is her school’ and that she ‘can’t stand this.’ ”

Parents, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution toward their children under a principal they describe as “toxic,” are demanding answers and board action.

They say the assembly is the last and final straw in a long list of concerns regarding what they feel is the school’s plummeting culture during the past four years, where staff, parents and students “were treated with disdain and cruelty,” concerns met with criticism, evaluations “used as a form of punishment” and complaints left unaddressed. A board spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied if past complaints are being examined as part of the ongoing investigation. Board superintendents Dianne Hawkins and Shawn Bredin acknowledged, however, “inappropriate language, including language describing marginalized communities, was displayed on screen during the assembly,” in a letter sent home to parents April 20.

A second letter dated May 1 indicated retired principal Joanne Harris would be temporarily filling the role of school principal during Barkey’s absence. Parents were notified May 8, however, that Barkey will not be returning to the school for the remainder of the school year.