A post on the Williams Lake…Ask it social media page is garnering some attention and bringing to light concerns of violence in local schools.
One anonymous post describes an alleged assault on the person’s son which has left the student with long term injuries.
Two hundred and twenty comments have resulted from the post as of March 4 since it was put up on Feb. 21, including some people sharing their own stories of fear, bullying or violence.
Parents have begun to organize, reaching out to fellow parents and collecting stories to determine just how serious the situation is, and what is being done about it.
Despite being afraid for her own children and possible backlash, Melissa Coates said she could no longer sit by and listen to the numerous stories of serious injuries and violence.
Coates has been one of the parents meeting to talk about what more could be done.
While this may be an issue in other school districts, she said she wants to know her kids will be safe in local schools, and something needs to change.
“I really don’t want my kids to have to go through the rest of school terrified,” she said. So she and other parents are gathering reports of violence.
However, school leaders don’t think the situation is more severe than in previous years.
“We have 850 students coming through the doors every day with their own complex stories. Our staff works very hard to ensure our schools are safe,” said Curt Levens, principal of Lake City Secondary School.
So far, Coates said she has heard of about 10 serious incidents, and while she knows some have resulted in charges, she believes most have not and she’s not sure what exactly is being done to address them.
Levens, however, said there have been a handful of fights this school year, and not more than this time last year. He said RCMP have been called a couple of times. He said he feels like due to cell phones and social media, these fights are more public and it may make them seem like more are occurring.
“We’d love to see none,” Levens said.
“Student safety is always our top priority and there are always concerns when there are fights or violent incidents, but I don’t believe the number of incidents has increased.”
RCMP in Williams Lake reported they have opened 11 police files related to assault at Lake City Secondary School this school year, three of which resulted in charges approved by Crown Counsel. Eight files were opened at Columneetza Junior Secondary School, with two of those having charges approved. RCMP noted there are many reasons why a file will not proceed to court, from insufficient evidence, to complainants requesting no further action be taken, to being determined unfounded, and to referring files to restorative justice, shifting them out of the traditional justice system.
Coates said she feels some young people are afraid to come forward, fearing further backlash and a lack of consequences for those perpetrating the violence.
“I just feel like it’s not getting dealt with,” she said, noting there is supposed to be a no tolerance for bullying policy so she’d like to know what is being done.
She said students go to school terrified every day.
Levens, however, said each situation is different and the school deals with them as they happen, following their Code of Conduct and using progressive discipline.
Coates and her fellow concerned parents hope to bring the gathered stories to show the school district this is not acceptable and more needs to be done.
“It’s not healthy and it’s not a good way to go into the world,” she said, suggesting maybe more could be done in elementary schools to help ensure young people aren’t reacting with violence.
Coates said she doesn’t have all the answers but hopes by gathering voices they can ensure things change for the better and wants to see the school district take more action. Anyone with an experience they want to share can send it to melissa_coates@yahoo.ca.
Levens said a lot of the issues they see in school seem to be carried over from social media and other kinds of communication.
“Parents should find opportunities to increase their digital literacy to be more aware of what their child is engaged in and potentially subjected to.”
Levens acknowledged incidents of violence are upsetting but said students continue to have opportunities to engage in a range of activities in a safe environment.
On the School District 27 website, under the Students and Families tab, parents can access information on safe schools including the expect respect & a safe eduction (erase) reporting tool.
READ MORE: School District 27 superintendent receives district leadership award
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