Board apologizes for swim-test lapse
A school trip ended in tragedy when Jeremiah Perry, 15, drowned in Algonquin Park. The TDSB now says Jeremiah — and 14 others on the trip — had failed a required swim test
“This is information we knew already . . . nothing can bring back Jerry.” JOSHUA ANDERSON, JEREMIAH’S FATHER
A teenager who drowned on a school canoe trip last month was one of 15 students who went on the excursion despite failing a required swim test, the Toronto District School Board said Wednesday.
Two other students on the trip weren’t tested at all, said TDSB director of education John Malloy. “I’m deeply troubled by these findings,” Malloy said. “On behalf of the TDSB, I offer our most sincere apology and regret. I also want to apologize to the families of the other students who went on the trip even though they didn’t pass the required swim test.”
Jeremiah Perry, a Grade 9 student, slipped under water in a lake in the back country of Algonquin Provincial Park on July 4, prompting a day of rescue efforts and the evacuation of his classmates. The 15-year-old’s body was found the next day.
All participants in the trip were supposed to undergo swim tests, but Jeremiah’s father has said his son didn’t know how to swim. The boy’s brother, Marion, was also on the canoe trip.
Jeremiah went to C.W. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute in North York. He started at the school in October after immigrating to Canada from Guyana.
Jeremiah’s father, Joshua Anderson, said he wasn’t surprised by the school board report because Malloy spoke with him earlier in the day. Nonetheless, he said, he appreciated that the TDSB went public with the information.
“This is information we knew already,” he told the Star in a phone interview. “It is what it is . . . nothing can bring back Jerry.”
Anderson said the family has no plans to act right away. They’re still awaiting results of the coroner’s office and the police investigations, he added. The family is still reeling from Jeremiah’s death, Anderson said.
“It’s too overwhelming,” he said. “Just watching it on TV, it’s too much.”
TDSB policy requires that all students going on such trips pass a canoe-specific swim test at a thirdparty facility on a lake. If they don’t pass that test, they should have had another opportunity to pass, with another test and one-on-one swim coaching at the C.W. Jeffreys pool.
“It would appear that our procedures weren’t followed,” Malloy said, and no further swim tests or instructions were offered afterward.
Malloy said the teachers involved are on home assignment and have refused to speak to the TDSB. He said they will be disciplined in accordance with board policies, with consideration for the other investigations into the case.
One of the teachers also brought along a child and a dog, Malloy added, saying the board will investigate that as well. He would not comment when asked if the same teachers had organized the canoe trip in previous years.
The teachers union said it wouldn’t comment on this situation.
All future trips of this type will be approved only after the principal of a school sees documents proving all students have passed swim tests, Malloy said. All participating students and their parents will see the results of the tests before the trips.
He said outdoor education is still important, but “we will not do this at the expense of student safety.”
Anderson said the new rules, had they been in place, might have made the difference for his son.
“I think everything would have changed,” he told reporters outside the family’s home Wednesday.
Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) Renfrew County Crime Unit also has an ongoing investigation into the drowning, led by Detective Const. Bernie Dikih. The detachment declined to comment Wednesday, saying Dikih could not be reached and other members of the unit couldn’t provide an update.
When the investigation started, the OPP noted that an updated release would be shared when “confirmed and accurate” information became available. Their own investigation may be waiting for results from the office of the chief coroner, an OPP spokesperson, Chrystal Jones, told the Star.
“It’s quite frustrating sometimes because we wait for their outcomes,” she said, adding that sometimes the process takes weeks or months to hear back.
Jones couldn’t provide any information about the scope of the OPP’s investigation or questions being asked.
After Jeremiah’s death, the TDSB requested information on all upcoming trips for the 2017-18 school year and no issues were found, Malloy said. No trips were cancelled as a result.