Hamilton teachers given special exemption to allow them to attend bullying training
- Oluseyi Olomodosi
- 22 Nov 2019
Further demonstrating their commitment to improving the safety of Hamilton’s schools, HWDSB staff have opted to go ahead with their anti-bullying PA day training despite the upcoming elementary school teachers’ strike later this month.
Since last month’s murder of 14-year-old Devan Selvey by another student, Hamilton teachers and school administrators have shown urgency in their desire to combat the growing issue of violence in Hamilton schools. Before his death, Selvey was victim to weeks of constant bullying.
Despite notifying both HDWSB officials and Hamilton Police of the incidents, Shari-Ann Selvey, Devan’s mother, says that the torment continued to escalate to the point that he and his friends were consistently forced to be picked up from school early just to escape.
Throughout the targeting and severe harassment, Ms Selvey was in communication with school officials to keep them aware of what was going on. On the day of the stabbing, she and a few of Devan’s friends’ parents spoke with the school’s vice-principal just moments before the incident occurred.
HWDSB staff failed to protect Devan. Both his mother and the school board acknowledge this fact.
In the aftermath of his death, the school board has announced a number of anti-bullying initiatives with the aim of fostering positive, safe, and healthy learning environments for every student within the HWDSB community. Among these, is a plan to spend the province-wide PA day on November 29 to focus on anti-bullying training as opposed to curriculum-based workshops.
Last week, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) announced its teachers will begin a work-to-rule job action on November 26. The strike targets administrative tasks.
Elementary school teachers will not be completing report cards, taking part in any school board activities outside of school hours, or participating in any online training, professional learning, or board-related activities on PA days.
This would ordinarily mean that the HWDSB’s planned anti-bullying training day for staff would have to be postponed, but upon hearing of the strike decision, Hamilton-Wentworth’s ETFO representatives immediately asked union leaders for an exemption to allow teachers to attend the workshop. ETFO leadership instantly granted their request.
The goal of the strike is to put pressure on the Ford government and its education minister to better address the needs of Ontario’s students. The ETFO’s work-to-rule action is done with the goal of creating a better education environment for students in the long-term while limiting any inconvenience to them while the strike takes place.
BREAKING: ETFO plans strike action that impacts Ministry and school boards, not students. Read the full media release at: https://t.co/h4QN8C3HdZ #onpoli #OntEd pic.twitter.com/yARebQdCk2
— Elementary Educators (@ETFOeducators) November 14, 2019
With long-term student wellness in mind, Hamilton-Wentworth teachers feel that it is important to go ahead with their planned anti-bullying day. Issues such as adequate support for children with special needs, full-day kindergarten, and fair wages are important both in the short and long term, but so is the pressing concern of student safety.
In the aftermath of Selvey’s death, HWDSB staff strongly believe that they cannot afford to turn down any opportunity to work towards a safer school environment for both themselves and their students. Doing so would run counter to the goals of the strike.
In addition to the elementary teachers’ federation, two of the province’s other three major teacher unions are taking steps towards strike action. On Monday afternoon, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation revealed that that 95.5% of teachers and 92% of education workers backed strike action. They have yet to announce any job action, which means that Hamilton’s high school teachers will be able to attend the PA day.
Ontario’s Catholic school teachers have voted 97% in favour of a strike but haven’t yet moved to a legal strike position. Talks between the government and French teachers continue to take place.
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