Teachers, MLAs dismayed over 'epidemic' of violence in P.E.I. classrooms

As the new school year began in P.E.I., MLAs were told that teachers are experiencing significantly more violence in the classroom than they did just a few years ago. 

The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation told a legislative standing committee on Thursday that educators need more support to keep classrooms safe, while calling the recent spike in violence an "epidemic." 

Federation president Andy Doran said eight per cent of teachers surveyed three years ago said they had experienced violence at school. In 2023, that number surged to 23 per cent. 

"It could be anything from being kicked, or perhaps a teacher may be pinched, a teacher could be screamed at in their face. It's a wide range of things," said Doran, a retired educator and administrator. 

"The impact is stress. Teachers by nature want to help their students. They want to protect their students."

The P.E.I. government has said that it plans to hire 18 new behaviour support teachers for this school year, part of its Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports pilot program that's aimed at helping more students integrate well into the classroom.

The teachers' union said those hirings are a positive step, but it believes more mental health support is needed for Island students. 

P.E.I. politicians are hearing from teachers too. Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker told the committee about a conversation he had with an educator at one school. 

"We had a fairly lengthy conversation, which ended up with them telling me a story about a student who had a pair of scissors at the neck of another student," he said. "And the shocking thing — and it's shocking enough — this was a kindergarten class."

Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly, the Opposition education critic, called the numbers cited by the federation "staggering." 

He said he'll be questioning the government on how to make schools safer during the upcoming fall sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature.

"It all becomes … a reflection of what's happening in society and we've got to make sure that we have better mental health supports in the province," McNeilly said. "Early intervention is the key here, and I'm just worried that [the] structure of our system to deal with this is not what it needs to be."

Despite the increased level and severity of the violence, Doran still believes Island schools are safe, but he would like to see steps taken to ensure the situation doesn't get any worse. 

"As much as I feel for the teachers, the impact that that has on the students who witnessed that is even more worrisome for me," he said. "That's the type of thing that should send alarms off to all society."