Parents and guardians of students attending two schools in Williams Lake are invited to attend conversations at their schools this month regarding safety and well-being.
The announcement comes after months of frustration for a group of parents, Concerned Parents and Caregivers of Williams Lake, who have been organizing against bullying and violence in School District 27 (SD 27) which spans across a region about the size of New Brunswick serving areas from Williams Lake to 100 Mile House and Likely to Anahim Lake.
At least 15 caregivers and students attended the latest SD 27 Board of Education meeting on Oct. 22 and left feeling exasperated. It was the second time in four working months the group of caregivers could address the district in person to express their concerns regarding school codes of conduct.
Melissa Coates, who helped the group kick off in March, told the board there is an “urgent bullying crisis in our schools” and parents “have been repeatedly denied the opportunity to speak.”
In an email to Black Press Media, SD 27 Supt. Cheryl Lenardon said this year the district has recorded 11 instances of bullying, 19 incidents involving fighting or physical aggression, and two incidents involving a weapon. These statistics include all incidents at junior and senior secondary schools across the district, whether serious or minor.
"Most student conduct issues are minor in nature and do not involve violence," Lenardon wrote to Black Press, adding the district has policies which ensure preventative measures are taken and incidents are responded to effectively.
Lenardon became superintendent of the district at the end of the last school year after Chris van der Mark retired from the position.
When asked how she felt following the Oct. 22 meeting, Coates told Black Press Media she was frustrated. “The school district keeps quoting procedures and denied us our right to bring these concerns forward,” she said.
Each time the group expressed their concerns to the district in person, they were given two minutes each to speak with a total of 15 minutes. Several parents said they were not informed of the time constraints before the first meeting and were left scrambling to adjust what they prepared.
During her address to the board on Oct. 22 Coates invoked the BC Human Rights Code, stating: “The ongoing bullying, particularly targeting vulnerable students, demands immediate action. Denying us a voice only deepens the crisis and fails to protect our children’s rights to a safe, discrimination-free environment.”
In a statement, Lenardon said there’s been misunderstanding regarding the proper avenues to follow in order to communicate with the board. When it comes to delegations seeking to present at regular meetings, she said a notice needs to be provided along with details on what will be covered and requested.
“It is up to the board, once they have heard the information, how they choose to respond or follow up,” Lenardon wrote, after which she clarified a follow up can come in the form of setting priorities and policies as well as determining how resources would be allocated.
The public can make comments at the end of the board’s monthly meetings, as long as they are related to items from the agenda. Parents can also send concerns in writing to the board, which get distributed to each trustee.
But the group of parents advocating for change say these avenues of communication are not working.
George Hobi is one of the parents organizing with Coates and has been approaching the school district himself for over a year now, hoping the issue of violence in schools would be acknowledged, disciplinary approaches would be reviewed and frameworks developed to ensure students feel safe at school.
“There's not one standing up, not one reaching out,” Hobi said about the SD 27 board members and the issue of bullying and violence in schools during an interview.
In her statement, Lenardon wrote that schools in the district revisited their codes of conduct following new provincial restrictions on phones and devices in schools. She wrote that staff, students and caregivers were given the chance to provide feedback on the existing code and the updated code was distributed to students and families at the beginning of this year. She highlighted the district’s ongoing work with Safer Schools Together, which provides training to help build safe environments for students and staff.
But the parents were not satisfied.
Hobi said he and other parents have been asking for an open conversation with the board but all they are getting is a chance to make a statement.
“What we are trying here is to work together with the school district,” he said, adding “What we are receiving is...a wall.”
In response to the mounting concerns brought forward by the caregivers, Lenardon said Columneetza Junior Secondary and Lake City Secondary in Williams Lake will be hosting conversations for parents and guardians on Nov. 18 and 19, respectively.
“The conversations will allow for open sharing of concerns and what is happening this year to enhance student safety and well-being at those schools,” Lenardon wrote in her statement. "This will be a good opportunity to build understanding all around and move forward together.”
Lenardon said these schools were picked because concerns were raised there which contrast with the “promising results” of a student survey from the spring, in which students from grades three and up were asked about their sense of safety and belonging at school.
The superintendent also wrote about the District School Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), which provides an opportunity for parents’ concerns to be brought forward to the Superintendent and a board trustee every month. Parents and caregivers are invited to attend Parent Advisory Council (PAC) meetings at their child’s school to express broader concerns, and it’s up to a representative to provide feedback and input at DPAC meetings.
Coates told Black Press Media she is interested to see what comes of the upcoming conversations, and is hoping it will be an opportunity to be heard out. She added she expects to see concrete measures to protect kids and staff accountability.
"We need real plans and actions, not just words, to tackle bullying head-on. And most importantly, the students' voices have to matter - they need to be part of the solution," she said.
As for Hobi, he isn't convinced the conversations will produce anything different than his previous interactions with the district.
“I don’t expect too much from it,” Hobi said about the upcoming conversations at the Williams Lake schools. For his part, he plans to demand all board of education meetings, PAC, and DPAC meetings automatically include health and safety on the agenda so the topic cannot be avoided.
