Latest news with #CommissionerForTeacherRegulation
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
B.C. principal spanked First Nations student, made remarks ‘inconsistent' with reconciliation
A B.C. school principal who spanked a young First Nations student and later made comments 'inconsistent' with truth and reconciliation has been issued a three-day suspension. Pehgee Agnes Boholst Aranas was employed by a First Nation at a certified band school when she spanked the Grade 1 student in November 2023, according to a summary of a consent agreement between the principal and B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. The document does not specify which First Nation she was working for – or the name of the band school – to protect the student's identity. Another school employee witnessed the spanking incident and reported it to administrators, after which Aranas was asked to meet with members of the First Nation, according to the summary. 'In that meeting, Arans incorrectly claimed that (the student's) parents had approved her actions, and made comments which were inconsistent with truth, reconciliation and healing,' it reads. The principal was then suspended pending an investigation, and told not to share details of the incident with colleagues. She did anyway, telling 'at least two employees' about what happened, including the name of the person who reported her. Aranas was fired in May 2024. After reviewing the circumstances, B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decided an additional punishment of a three-day suspension of Aranas's teaching certificate was warranted. Aranas was also ordered to complete two courses, one called 'Creating a Positive Learning Environment' and another called 'Systemic Racism in Canada.' In deciding on the disciplinary measures, the commissioner considered a number of factors, including that she did not treat the Grade 1 student 'with dignity and respect,' and that her actions 'negatively impacted the community's feelings of trust and safety in the education system.' The consent agreement summary notes Aranas had previously been disciplined for 'inappropriate comments' about the First Nations community, including one incident in June 2021 when she emailed an employee who had called in sick. She wrote: 'Suck it up, buttercup!!! The symptoms are just injection symptoms and not actual sickness! Tough native men like you have survived worse??? Lol.'
CTV News
11-06-2025
- CTV News
‘Girls like older men': B.C. teacher banned 1 year for behaviour around students
A teacher from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been disciplined for a series of incidents that included putting his hand around one student's waist, comparing another to a model, and telling others that 'girls like older men.' John Peter Rocca was teaching math in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District when the incidents took place between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years, according to a consent agreement he signed with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. The incidents mostly involved three students, who are only identified in the document as Student A, Student B and Student C to protect their privacy. Rocca began putting his hand on Student A's waist or shoulder while Student A was in Grade 7, according to the agreement. He would visit Student A's locker the following school year, sometimes leaning against Student A's shoulder and asking questions about Student A's personal life. At one point, Rocca joked to one of his classes that if he won the lottery, he would start a school in Hawaii for his favourite students – who included Student A and no one else present. Student A reported feeling uncomfortable because of Rocca's behaviour. The consent agreement notes that Rocca had previously been suspended over allegations of unnecessary physical contact with students in the same district back in 2003. 'Rocca agreed to conditions upon his return to work, including that he would not touch female students,' the consent agreement says. The teacher was also accused of 'improper touching of students' while working for the Langley School District in 1988, according to the document, but resigned before an investigation into the allegations could be completed. Incidents with other students Rocca's interactions with Student B included approaching Student B from behind and placing his hand on Student B's shoulder multiple times. He once said to Student B, 'Can you smile? You should smile more, you have such a nice smile,' according to the document. Rocca would 'get very close' when speaking to Student C, and once told Student C, 'Oh, you're like a model' while balancing papers on Student C's head. The consent agreement also details one incident in which Rocca was reprimanding two boys for immature behaviour, and made comments about how 'older men are better,' and that's why 'girls like older men.' During the same interaction, he referred to female students as 'adorable,' 'sweet,' and 'cute.' Rocca retired from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District in July 2021. The Commissioner for Teacher Regulation ordered an investigation into his interactions with students that fall, finding his behaviour constituted professional misconduct. Rocca agreed to a one-year ban on teaching in either public or private schools in the province. In deciding on the appropriate consequences, the commissioner considered a number of factors, including that Rocca 'failed to create a positive learning environment,' 'engaged in a repeated pattern of similar conduct,' and 'caused physical and emotional harm to students,' according to the agreement.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
B.C. teacher agrees to 15-year ban over sexual relationship with Grade 12 student
A B.C. teacher has agreed to the cancellation of his teaching certificate and a 15-year ban on applying for a new one after admitting to having a sexual relationship with a student. The office of B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation published an anonymized summary of its consent agreement with the teacher on its website Tuesday. The document withholds the teacher's name and other key information in order to protect the identity of the student 'who was harmed, abused or exploited' in the case. It does not say where in B.C. the misconduct occurred, nor does it indicate the student's gender. According to the document, the teacher held a subject-restricted independent school teaching certificate and was employed as a secondary school teacher until August 2024. At that time, following a report from the school's principal to the commissioner, he signed an undertaking not to teach in any role requiring certification from the provincial Ministry of Education and Child Care. The consent agreement summary indicates the student – referred to as 'Student A' throughout – was one of the teacher's pupils. 'When Student A was in Grade 12, the teacher breached professional boundaries by allowing Student A to confide in him and become dependent on him,' the document reads, adding that the teacher made inappropriate physical contact by touching 'the back of Student A's bare knees' on several occasions. 'On the day Student A graduated from the school, the teacher kissed Student A,' the document continues. 'Student A told the teacher that they loved him. The teacher responded by saying that he loved Student A too.' The teacher also 'engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship' with the student 'around the time of Student A's graduation,' according to the document. It does not specify whether the relationship became sexual before or after the student graduated. According to the summary, the teacher admitted that this conduct constituted professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a teacher, and agreed to the certificate cancellation and teaching ban. The summary lists three factors that led the commissioner to conclude these sanctions were appropriate. First, the inappropriate relationship 'arose out of the teacher-student relationship.' Second, the teacher 'demonstrated a serious failure to maintain appropriate boundaries.' And third, the teacher 'engaged in conduct which damaged a student's emotional safety and well-being.'
