Charges dropped against teacher
‘Boys and girls, it’s OK. He can get out,’ class at Alpine school told after child taped down
KITCHENER Assault charges have been dropped against a former Kitchener elementary school teacher.
The Waterloo woman faced allegations that she restrained two young, racialized students with tape as discipline for moving their desks at Alpine Public School.
The Crown withdrew both assault charges against the woman on Wednesday, said Crown prosecutor Katherine Enns.
The woman signed a 10-year peace bond that says she can’t work for a school in Canada or work or volunteer in a position of authority with children aged 12 or younger. “The Crown made no comment about why the charges were being withdrawn,” the woman’s defence lawyer, Vanora Simpson, said in an email to The Record.
Simpson said court was told the peace bond “did not amount to an admission of criminal or civil liability.”
The incident happened in October.
A statement of facts agreed upon by the Crown and defence was read into the record.
It says the teacher asked another teacher in the classroom to give her a roll of masking tape.
“A piece of tape was placed across the top of (a student’s) thighs and onto his chair,” court was told.
As the one teacher was leaving the classroom, she heard the accused teacher tell students: “Boys and girls, it’s OK. He can get out …”
Later, a piece of tape was “placed across (a second student’s) chest and over his arms,” court was told.
The teacher’s “intent was that the tape would serve as a reminder” to the first student to not leave his seat and to the second student “not to twist around in his seat to socialize” with the first student.
“Each student later confirmed in an interview with police that he removed the tape himself from his own body at the end of the class,” court was told.
But one of the students who was taped told police he was afraid to return to school after the incident.
The brief statement of facts does not say how long the tape remained on the two students. It also does not say the students are racialized.
The woman, a teacher for more than 15 years, has resigned from the Waterloo Region District School Board.
“She has no criminal record and has never previously been the subject of an investigation by her employer, the Children’s Aid Society, the Ontario College of Teachers, or the police,” court was told.
“There have been no prior complaints regarding her professional conduct; she has never faced professional discipline by her board or the college.”
The board’s director of education pledged that the safety of every child is paramount in an emotional message shared after the board learned on Wednesday about the court ruling.
While the board can’t comment on the ruling, jeewan chanicka wanted to speak to the school community about the board’s
commitment to student safety in a video posted later that day.
“What we will say and what we do need to say is that we know there will be some parents in our community, especially parents of Black, Indigenous and racialized students, who are wondering who will ensure the safety of their children when they send them off to school,” chanicka said.
“The promise that we’re making to you, that I am making to you, is that we are committed to
g systemic racism and oppression in all its forms, that we will continue to work to ensure the safety and well-being of all the students that we serve. Our most earnest goal is that every parent can send their child to school knowing that they will be safe, loved, cared for and welcome.”
He said the board is commit-can, ted to doing the work needed to address systemic racism in schools.
“Even though it’s hard work, it is the right work, the necessary work that we need to do to build a future that we want.”
He acknowledged in a written statement that the news will affect people differently. For AfriCaribbean and Black, Indigenous and racialized staff and students, “the events are inducing, or exacerbating, trauma that already exists.”
The board plans to share resources to support students, families and community members in the coming days.