The parents at St. Francis de Sales catholic elementary school have some serious concerns about the toxic school environment our children are subjected to. The new principal was first introduced to the St. Francis de Sales school community in September of 2018. Within a few months it was evident that the peaceful, loving, and positive environment that our children grew to love at this school, was disturbed. We are becoming increasingly concerned regarding her behaviour and leadership at our school.
Parents were initially dealing with the principal on a one to one basis, hoping that this was a transition period for her, and that eventually the environment would improve. Over time, the mood and tension of the school environment was increasingly becoming worse. Slowly parents began to communicate with one another, and started to realize that these were not individual complaints regarding the principal’s behaviour. They were in fact shaping a persistent pattern of harassment and abuse of authority towards our children, educators, as well as the parent community.
We as parents are no longer confident in her ability to remain in a leadership position at our school as we believe that a qualified leader would exemplify the catholic values and standards of behaviour. We expect an educator in the leadership role to love our children and want the best for them, instead of an emphasis on rules over people. The principal is often consumed and focused on following rules, creating an environment of fear for young children. Students without any history of problems are increasingly becoming scared and anxious to go to school. They are no longer enjoying school like they used to! This is unacceptable, and is creating a culture of fear and reprisal in our school. We all send our children to school to learn in a safe, fun, and loving environment, not a detention centre or prison.
Parents have also noted that when they have brought concerns to the principal or offered suggestions for improvement, their children were often the targets of her enforcement the next day. As a parent community we cannot allow this type of bullying and negative behaviour to be on display from such a prominent position of authority. Additionally the principal has been noted to avoid any difficult conversations with parents. She is not open to dialogue with her school community.
Finally, the principal’s relationship with the amazing educators at our school is very poor and unproductive. This results in a palpable tension that has also become very evident to parents, and directly affects our children’s mental health. This has resulted in a very negative and damaging environment for the students, who are ultimately the ones to suffer. Parents cannot continue to accept this negative environment for both our children as well as the educational staff at our school.
The online learning environment within the last year has really opened the eyes of many parents with respect to what has been going on inside the school, and the quality of the principal to teacher relationships. We are no longer hopeful that the behaviour displayed by the current principal will be modified or changed. At this point in time the damage she has caused is too great, and many of the relationships with the children, teachers, and parents would be irreparable. She has lost the trust of the school community. As a result of our discussions together we are now fully aware that there have been numerous complaints submitted independently by concerned parents throughout the last several years. We are extremely disappointed that no evident measures were taken to address these complaints in the past, and that this unacceptable pattern of behaviour continues to exist in our school. A this time, the parent community has come together and requests that these grave concerns are taken seriously by the school board. We trust that the school board will promptly further evaluate the nature of these complaints, the qualifications of the individual, and the best outcome for the children.