Laura Anderson, a former Quest student who was instrumental in bringing Ellison to court, said the Vancouver school board (VSB) is still dodging responsibility for what happened to its students.
“The release of the Avison report, despite the removal of large portions of the key content related to abuse, makes it very clear that the VSB and the school administration of the day knowingly ignored normal supervisory protocols for the teachers in the Quest program. As a result, female students were left to fend for themselves against someone as calculating and determined as Tom Ellison.
“This behaviour by the VSB and school administration is inexcusable and directly resulted in dozens of girls being victimized. In addition, it is disheartening to see that the VSB continues to take no responsibility for its role in the abuse of so many.”
Avison’s report says a change in school leadership allowed the Quest teachers to have ultimate control of their classrooms.
“All of the senior personnel interviewed during the various inquiries into these matters have vivid recollections of the escalation in aggressive and confrontational responses from the teachers, from some parents and from some of the students whenever the program, or any of the Quest’s teachers, was criticized or subject to what, in the mainstream school, would be considered quite normal supervisory questions.
“Quest appears to have been left substantially alone to chart its own course from September 1976 to at least September of 1981. It was during that period of time that the bulk of the offences committed by Tom Ellison were taking place,” he wrote.
It wasn’t until 1986 that a woman was appointed to Quest, but she encountered resistance from the male teachers in the program and was thrust into an environment that was “consistently hostile and often unprofessional,” the report says, adding that former administrators would later and accurately describe her treatment as shameful.
The district’s communications manager refused Thursday to identify the Prince of Wales principals, citing privacy laws.
Avison said student-protection policies have improved since the 1980s but one area that still requires attention is the preservation of data. Since the district has a policy of destroying records, even disciplinary records, seven years after an employee has departed, Avison said he did not have access to all the information he needed to conduct his review.
He also called for changes to the B.C. School Act to include clear expectations for the conduct of school personnel and a broadening of the requirement to report misconduct to the B.C. College of Teachers. Education Minister George Abbott was not available Thursday to comment on Avison’s recommendations. |
發表於 2011-3-18 01:08
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