Ontario Principals Council defends staff at Toronto middle school accused of racism
CTV
An organization representing staff accused of anti-Black racism at a Toronto elementary school is 'confident' some of the allegations are false and warned against 'destroying the reputations and lives of dedicated educators' before an investigation is complete.
An organization representing staff accused of anti-Black racism at a Toronto elementary school is "confident" some of the allegations are false and warned against "destroying the reputations and lives of dedicated educators" before an investigation is complete.
The comments from the Ontario Principals Council came a day after the Parents of Black Children advocacy group said it received reports from two parents of Black students at John Fisher Public School, which alleged the children were detained in a small "isolation room" in separate occasions.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the council said it is confident evidence will show a Black student at the centre of the initial Toronto District School Board investigation was never placed or locked in a small room, as his mother alleged.
"We have become increasingly concerned about deliberately false narratives aimed at destroying the reputations and lives of dedicated educators," the council's statement said.
"We are confident that once this incident is thoroughly investigated, the evidence will show that the student in question was never placed in the room depicted in the media reports, let alone with a closed or locked door."
The Parents of Black Children organization said it was first contacted weeks ago by the mother of a six-year-old Black child who attends the school.
The mother alleged her son, who is in Grade 1, was sent to the principal's office on one occasion and was speaking to another student there when the principal allegedly told him he was being disruptive. She said that's when her child was allegedly brought to a closet-sized room and locked inside.
