‘Violence in schools, particularly how the actual number of incidents is being represented by the (school board) is not being shared and/or grossly under reported’
Orillia Matters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article titled ‘Trustees grappling with ‘dramatic increase’ in school violence,’ March 28.
Even though I retired from the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) almost a decade ago, after a 30-year career in high school classrooms, I still keep an eye on what’s happening in our schools and hear about issues from several former colleagues.
This helps explain why I was recently contacted by one of them. With their permission, I’d like to share their serious concerns about violent incidents taking place within classrooms of the Simcoe County District School Board.
As a current employee, I can’t reveal what’s really going on inside classrooms. The SCDSB isn’t fairly sharing data on violence with parents or trustees. This was a hot topic during last Wednesday’s (March 25) Board meeting. Violence in schools, especially how the actual number of incidents is reported by the Simcoe County District School Board isn’t being communicated accurately and/or is greatly underreported.
As someone who understands the internal processes, it’s crucial to point out that the SCDSB does collect information on violent incidents. Staff members must log these events using the board’s online reporting tool by filling out a KICS form (Workplace Health & Safety/Safe Schools Incident Report Form).
After completion, it goes to vice-principals and principals, who are expected to address these issues with students, staff, and the community. This means there’s a much larger dataset available than what’s currently being shared publicly. These reports are also sent to ETFO (Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario), OSSTF (secondary teachers), and CUPE.
I’m worried that only severe incidents – like those involving weapons or sexual assault – are getting attention. While these cases certainly need reporting, they don’t represent all forms of violence that staff and students face daily within SCDSB schools. There are hundreds of violent incidents every month that seem significantly underrepresented, leading to an incomplete view of classroom realities.
Every day, education workers get kicked, punched, scratched or verbally abused-but this information isn’t shared. More importantly, nearly all reported incidents don’t qualify as shareable with trustees unless they involve weapons or sexual assault. Often administrators (principals or vice-principals) ask educators during debriefs after assaults: ‘What could you have done differently?’ I can assure you that educators DO NOT want to be punched or kicked then blamed by their superiors for being abused.
It also troubles me that some trustees downplaying this situation seem uninformed about what’s actually happening at schools. They merely repeat what senior administration (Director & Superintendents) tells them to say. This dangerous reality presents a serious threat to student and staff safety within SCDSB since trustees blindly follow directives.
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