Yukon teacher worked while under investigation for alleged harm toward students

The Yukon government says a part-time teacher under investigation for alleged harm toward students in Whitehorse was able to go work for several days at a different school, in the same city, earlier in May. 

The Department of Education confirmed that the employee was placed on leave following the allegations, but was still able to cover several shifts at École Whitehorse Elementary School despite the ongoing investigation. 

Carolyn Lewis-Shillington, the Yukon's assistant deputy minister of schools, initially told CBC News it happened because of a "computer glitch."

"The person is a part-time teacher, so they were picking up jobs at other schools ... people can accept jobs all year long," Lewis-Shillington said. 

"The computer didn't recognize past acceptance; it was blocking future acceptance. So we fixed that now and we are very sorry that that happened."

A spokesperson with the Department of Education, however, later said Lewis-Shillington's information was inaccurate.

The spokesperson said École Whitehorse Elementary School used its own call-out list for teachers, instead of the territory's dispatch system. 

"École Whitehorse Elementary School was using this practice and did have the teacher on leave cover shifts on April 30, May 6, 7 and 12," the spokesperson said. 

"As soon as the school administrator became aware that the employee was on administrative leave, they informed HR on May 13, and directed the teacher to leave École Whitehorse Elementary School as they are on administrative leave from all schools."

Meanwhile, Sharon MacCoubrey, École Whitehorse Elementary School's principal, sent out an email to families on May 22 to address the situation.

She said she became aware of allegations toward an employee, who was immediately removed from the school. MacCoubrey also confirmed these allegations involved a different school. 

The department declined to provide more information regarding the nature of the allegations, or which school they originated from. 

"We have an excellent process," Lewis-Shillington said.

"Of course, as part of this process, it is an allegation that is being investigated. So all parties involved in that must be kept safe and protected. And we try to prevent people from jumping to conclusions until investigations are completed."

Lack of communication

For Ted Hupé, president of the Yukon Association of Education Professionals, the incident was a "perfect storm." 

Hupé said nobody seemed to have the right information about the teacher, nobody was monitoring the on-call list, and the employee themself received vague communication about the leave. 

"It was a communication boondoggle, as well as someone not monitoring at the department level," Hupé said. 

"We need to be confident that the processes are in place to monitor all the employees."

Hupé also said he questions the department's communication that goes out to families regarding allegations — which he described as "alarmist."

"Every family — and everyone — assumes the worst," he said. 

The Yukon government said it has received 10 reports of allegations of harm or abuse toward students this school year.

"If that policy creates the scene where we're all being more aware and we're monitoring better, then that is a good thing," Hupé said.

"But ... I am concerned when anybody is being investigated or accused of inappropriate behaviour."

Lewis-Shillington said that shows the Safer Schools Action Plan is working. The plan was developed to avoid communication failures about abuse and harm in schools. 

"Each incident is very different and they might occur on a spectrum from extremely severe to maybe just curious, a little bit concerned," she said. 

The most recent incidents involve two different teachers in Whitehorse.

Whistle Bend Elementary School, as well as Selkirk Elementary School, both removed staff following allegations of harm or abuse toward students. 

Emails sent to parents didn't include any details, "to protect the privacy of staff and students." The Yukon RCMP confirmed they are investigating both cases. 

Jan Olson, the Education department's superintendent of schools and student services, said it can be hard to find a balance between providing information to families, while respecting investigation procedures. 

"We want parents to be informed and know that it's a safe community, but we also have investigations that are taking place, whether it be with police or whether it's with human resources or both," Olson said.