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Parents and members of the teachers’ union rally outside the Toronto District School Board office on Yonge Street on Tuesday.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
Parents are planning to rally on Wednesday at an embattled public school in Toronto they say has descended into “chaos.”
In the past three weeks, the principal at Bowmore Road Junior and Senior Public School has been reassigned, the vice-principal was let go, two teachers have been terminated and eight other teachers have been suspended. The reasons for the terminations and suspension are not clear.
“With the exception of the Grade 7 and 8 special education classes, the entire Grade 7 and 8 teaching team is gone right now,” said Toronto District School Board trustee and Bowmore parent Michelle Aarts. “People are hurt, and they’re angry.”
Tensions at the school have been rising since September, when a new instructional model was adopted. Some parents believe that the disciplinary action against teachers was done in retaliation for their actions after the model change.
Previously, two teachers shared responsibility for teaching each Grade 7 and 8 class. That model gave students an experience of what high school will be like.
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Parents are upset about unprecedented staff upheaval at Bowmore Road Junior and Senior Public School.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
But the administration mandated a change to “core” instruction in which one teacher is responsible for most homeroom instruction, despite objections from parents and students.
After the change, some teachers stopped providing extracurricular activities as they adjusted to heavier workloads.
There have also been safety concerns at the school, including bullying, one student allegedly calling a Black student a racial slur, and vandalism.
“It’s chaos,” Jenn Engels, co-chair of the parent council at the school, said of the fallout from the administrative changes and disciplinary actions. “I really think what’s happening to the teachers is scapegoating them in order to take the spotlight off the TDSB because of this catastrophic rollout.”
Wednesday’s rally is being organized so that parents can draw attention to their frustrations, she said.
“We still want to make our dissatisfaction known,” she said.
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Tensions at the school have been rising since September, when a new instructional model was adopted.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
The labour union representing the teachers held a separate rally outside the Toronto District School Board head offices Tuesday.
“It’s an unprecedented display of heavy-handedness against really beloved teachers in their community,” said Elementary Teachers of Toronto president Helen Victoros. “We are vigorously fighting the terminations through the grievance arbitration process.”
In a letter sent to parents and caregivers on Monday, the school board’s interim director of education Stacey Zucker said matters brought to the school’s attention have been investigated and “have been or are in the process of being addressed.”
An audit will be done to review safety, rules and procedures, according to the letter.
As well, the board has appointed a new principal and superintendent, and has added two school-based safety monitors, two lunchroom supervisors, a special needs assistant, a child and youth worker, a child and youth counsellor and a student success teacher.
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Some parents believe that the disciplinary action against teachers was done in retaliation for their actions after the model change.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
The board will also be adding cameras to the school.
“I recognize that periods of transition can bring uncertainty, and I want to assure families that our focus remains on providing stable leadership, consistent support, and a positive learning environment for all students,” the letter said.
Mercedes Lee, who has two children in Grade 7 at the school, called the letter “a good first step.”
“But these teachers should not have faced reprisals for advocating for the school community,” she said.
Both of her children were in classes taught by the two teachers who have been terminated.
Those teachers and the eight who have been suspended are “beloved” by the parents at the school, Ms. Lee said.
“I want those teachers back in the classroom where they should be,” she said.
Many of the frustrations parents have experienced since the beginning of the school year stem from the fact that, with the board under supervision, parents can’t turn to trustees to advocate on their behalf, Ms. Lee said.
“All we do is get stonewalled by the administration,” she said. “This is shocking mismanagement of an organization.”
