Students walk out of Toronto school amid 'constant chaos,' violence
Students walked out of a Toronto high school they say has become the site of “constant chaos” in which students detail deplorable conditions, teachers say it’s violent and parents are demanding action from the school board.
At a walkout staged outside of The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) office on Friday, York Memorial Collegiate Institute students described a constant police presence, bathrooms without toilet paper or sanitary products, and classrooms that are construction zones.
York Memorial Collegiate Institute and George Harvey Collegiate Institute amalgamated in September, cramming 1,300 students into one building near Keele Street and Rogers Road. The TDSB said the merger “hasn’t been without its challenges.”
“When you walk into school, it feels like a prison,” a Grade 12 student said on Friday afternoon.
“I have never seen anything like this happen in my whole entire high school experience. As a student, I’m very angry.”
Students gathered to demand a “safe and stable” learning environment, which they described as void of a police presence and racial violence, a school brimming over capacity and staff not showing up to class. On Thursday night, parents attended a TDSB meeting to address these ongoing issues.
"She's scared to death to go to school, "the mother of a Grade 9 student said at the consultation. "She's coming home saying, 'Mom, I could have died today."
Members of the school's administration, including the current principal, did not show up for work last month, citing an unsafe work environment.
At the time, staff members told CTV News Toronto that bathrooms had become “fight clubs” and alleged sites for drug use. A lockdown took place on Nov. 15 following reports of a person with a gun.
“Has anyone asked why students are fighting and why students are angry? Our anger has led to violence because no one is listening,” an honour roll student said at the Friday rally.
York Memorial students stage a walkout on Dec. 2, 2022. “I want to make it clear it is not all students that are causing the issues and it's not all teachers that are causing the issues. However, the tension between teachers and students is the main reason why there's problems happening in our school.”
After the protest, a letter was sent to parents and guardians providing updates on the actions being taken by the TDSB. They include the announcement of new permanent principal and vice principals, continued work to hire permanent teachers and the addition of supervision and counselling supports.
In addition, the board said the school leadership team will ensure there is a clear process that students, families and staff are aware of to report incidents of racism.
“While there is still much work to do, we are starting to make much needed progress at the school and it is my hope that that will become much more evident in the days ahead,” wrote executive superintendent Dr. Uton Robinson.
Also in the letter, the board said it is exploring virtual learning opportunities for students who “would be better served and would still earn credits to assure successful completion of their year.”
DOUG FORD RESPONSE
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked if he was planning to intervene in the violence taking place at York Memorial while at a news conference on Friday.
“We always leave that up to the school boards. We don't have jurisdiction to dictate to the school boards what needs to be done when there's any violent products,” he said.
“If there are any violent crimes, that goes back to the federal government to make sure that when someone gets charged, that there's mandatory sentences.”
Ford said it’s the federal government's responsibility to “toughen up” the criminal code to keep communities safer.
For the Mayor’s part, John Tory floated the idea of an official police presence in the school as a possible solution.
“I supported the old way of having the police in schools, but I realize that was controversial and the school board took it out. But is there a different way in which we can have police help to keep schools safe?” he said at an unrelated news conference Friday.
Tory said he plans to reconvene with representatives of the TDSB and Toronto police following a meeting earlier this week to further address the issue.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.