Catholic school board raises concerns with report on workplace violence and teachers
CBC News | Posted: June 29, 2017 6:35 PM | Last Updated: November 22, 2017
Board says they take reports of violence 'very seriously'
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is raising concerns with a recent report from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association that said almost 90 per cent of teachers in the province have seen or experienced violence or harassment in schools.
The Workplace Violence and Harassment Against Teachers survey of 3,500 teachers was published earlier this week and stated 60 per cent of teachers have personally experienced violence in schools, while 70 per cent have witnessed it.
Board spokesperson Stephen Fields said he has some "serious concerns" about those numbers, and the lack of information included in the report on how its conclusions were reached.
"I question that statistic and the way that survey was done," he said, adding the board's own statistics paint an "entirely different picture."
Teachers' association calls for action
His comments come after Brian Hogan, president of the Windsor-Essex chapter of the OECTA, said the 90 per cent figure is in line with what teachers in the area have seen and experienced and said the board should do more to protect its staff.
The WECDSB does not specifically record the number of violent incidents between students and teachers, but they do tally all violent incidents at schools. Fields provided the following figures at WECDSB schools:
- 2012-2013: 16 violent incidents were recorded
- 2013-2014: 11 violent incidents were recorded
- 2014-2015: 10 violent incidents were recorded
"I think it's still a serious issue no matter what number of cases you have," said Fields. "As a board we take the issue of workplace harassment and violence very, very seriously and to suggest that we're dismissive of the issue is quite frankly offensive."
Hogan acknowledged the Ministry of Education has started to take the issue of violence in schools more seriously, but said he has doubts that will filter down to the board level.
The president pointed to a recent incident where a group of students verbally threatened a teacher in a hallway as an example of the "shrug your shoulder attitude" teachers often get when reporting violence.
"The member was very distraught," he said. "It clearly fit the board's verbal assault policy, but the H.R. department and administration didn't take it as such."
Hogan said more staff would help keep teachers safe and added the rise of mental health-related incidents in schools shows the need for more training.
Fields stressed the report did not break down the survey regionally and said the experience in schools in LaSalle or Belle River is likely to be "vastly different" than the experience in large Toronto schools.
Fields pointed out that teachers are required to complete online training about workplace violence and harassment every year and maintained the board is serious about keeping its workers safe.
One thing both sides can agree on is that should a violent incident occur, the best course of action is to "report, report, report."