Windsor Essex public board reviewing police presence in schools

Students, staff, and parents are being asked to take part in a review of the Community Police Presence and Programs in the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB).

The review came after the programs were paused during the pandemic, said Sash Querbach, the superintendent of student well-being with the GECDSB.

The review began in July. Querbach said he didn't believe there had been a formal review in the past, and now was the time.

"It's also part of our broader commitment to looking at all of our practices and programs through an equity lens," Querbach said.

The public board's pause was also part of its Dismantling Anti-Black Racism Strategy. Action 2.8 states the board will "continue to pause the High School Resource Officer Program, pending the outcome of a review of the program and all non-essential police programs and their impact on Black students."

An education initiative known as the VIP program has been in schools since the 1980s and the high school resource program was introduced in the early 2000s.

A community survey has gone out for staff, parents, former students and community members, which will close on Friday.

Querbach said a second survey has recently gone out for secondary students only. There has also been student focus groups, interviews with Windsor police, LaSalle police, and the OPP, which are all involved in the programs, as well as the board of trustees, school administrators, staff, teachers and community groups.

"The community response has been very positive and we've had quite a large community response. The student survey just opened so we're sort of in the process of that," he said.

The deadline to have the review completed is at the end of the month. Querbach said the board should have recommendations for the programs in early December.

Program continues at the Catholic board

The policing programs in schools with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) were also on hiatus during the pandemic, but have restarted.

Rosemary Lofaso, the superintendent of education with the Catholic board, said there were meetings between the policing partners and board administration. She said many were in favour of the program returning.

"That's not to say that everybody feels that way. We are trying to make sure that we are sensitive to everyone's opinion in the sense that policing looks different for different people," she said. "Their past experiences can't be ignored. It looks different. I was reminded not that long ago that it has to look different than in the past."

Having police in the schools aids the schools in their priority to keep students safe, Lofaso said. 

"We want them safe within our buildings. We want them safe within our communities, outside the school walls, outside the school day and our policing partners provide a different perspective to that," she said.

As an example, Lofaso said if there is a concern about one of their students they don't have the ability to perform a wellness check at home, but police could. 

"It's not so much about calling police about a situation that is already exploded or imploded. It's about making sure that doesn't take place," she said. "So as much as we can, the programming that we look for is providing those proactive, preventative, positive messages so that our students feel safe within our schools and within our communities."

Another important part of the program for the board is allowing police to have a relationship with the students. Lofaso said community officers are in the school building, but are not there for surveillance. They celebrate events with the school and help highlight achievements. She said it's about making students comfortable and knowing the officers by name and building trust.

"It does take you know a bit of risk for some students who may have had negative experiences in the past. And again, that's not something to discount...We try to make sure that's at the forefront of what we're doing as far as programming, but the relationship piece is key. So we try to make sure that we're able to provide that positive interaction as much as we can."

CBC News reached out to Windsor police for comment, but the service deferred all questions to the GECDSB.