Principal fined in lock-up case

Calgary educator put students in room, tied door shut with rope

CALGARY — A Calgary school principal has been found guilty of professional misconduct for locking troublesome students alone in a room on two occasions.

Gerald Pedron, principal of Sundance Elementary, had discussed his plans with some school staffers to restrain “outof-control” students by placing them in a room and sealing the door shut with rope tied to brackets on the door frame, his lawyer said.

But a disciplinary panel with the Alberta Teachers’ Association ruled that Pedron had breached his profession’s rules of conduct, fining him $1,000 and ordering that he receive a severe letter of reprimand.

“We’re dealing, unfortunately, with kids that their behaviour would escalate to the point that they were out of control,” said Sean FitzGerald, Pedron’s lawyer. Though incidents were rare, he added, the school was not well equipped to deal with them.

Pedron had initially faced five charges of misconduct against two students. But the panel dismissed three, including claims that the principal used unreasonable force to restrain one student and that he shoved another when he intervened in a fight.

The principal admitted that during the 2011-2012 academic year, he locked a student in the school nurse’s room because there was a risk that she would flee the school, posing a risk to herself and potentially others, his lawyer said.

“The locking mechanism (the rope and brackets) was installed because if there were circumstances that existed that she became out of control behaviourally, she needed a timeout room,” FitzGerald said.

Pedron accepted responsibility for that incident, but he denied locking up another student in the nurse’s room, using the same rope and brackets, in May 2012.

The child had been brought to the principal’s office by another school official and, when the student’s behaviour “escalated” he was sent to the nurse’s room. A witness said Pedron tied the door shut, though the principal denied this.

The disciplinary panel found him guilty of professional misconduct in both cases.

The parents of one of the children involved told The Canadian Press they were stunned by the board’s decision.

They said their child was scarred by what happened and is only now starting to deal with it. The parents believed the consequences for Pedron should have been more severe.

Potential penalties ranged from a verbal reprimand to a loss of membership with the Alberta Teacher’s Association and a recommendation to suspend or strip Pedron’s teaching certification.

Pedron has been teaching since 1982 and had not previously faced any disciplinary action, his lawyer said.