Winnipeg school division working with anti-racism consultants after teacher says N-word in class
CBC
A month after a Winnipeg high school teacher was placed on leave after using the N-word in class, the school division says it's working with consultants to address problems with racism in all its schools.
The Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (the Franco-Manitoban School Division) says it learned about the Oct. 14 incident at Collège Louis-Riel the next morning, and the teacher was placed on leave that day.
The use of the slur was filmed and posted on social media.
In a video posted on Snapchat that was viewed by CBC News, a teacher and a student argue. The student can be heard saying, "The minute that word came out of your mouth, you did not respect us at all."
"What happened in October was unfortunate. It shouldn't have happened and we have to learn from it," said the director general of the school division, Alain Laberge, in an interview on Saturday.
WATCH | Teacher placed on leave last month for uttering the N-word:
The teacher was still on leave as of Saturday, Laberge said.
The division sent a letter to parents on Friday, detailing its plans to address racism in the school.
"We're working with a lot of experts from outside the school division because we think it's important to have a different look at what we're doing ... because we believe it's important that we can make our school division the best school division possible," Laberge said.
He said the consultant will deliver initial observations by the middle of next month, and the school division will use that to develop a plan by the middle of January.
"We don't want this to linger," Laberge said.
But that's how it feels to one parent.
A group of parents from Collège Louis-Riel founded a group last year over previous incidents of racism at the school.
One member, Blandine Tona, is happy some action is being taken, but wants the process of creating an anti-racism policy expedited.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.