Six-year-old Black student allegedly forced to isolate in small room at Toronto school

Three staff members from a Toronto elementary school are under investigation after a young student was allegedly detained in a small room for several hours.

The mother of a six-year-old Black student at John Fisher Junior Public School alleges her son was also forced to sit alone in a corner of the classroom and was told by his teacher that he was “obnoxious and unpleasant to be around.”

“You could see him emotionally falling apart,” she said in a pre-recorded message played at a press conference held by Parents of Black Children. “He would come home crying and say, ‘My head is going to explode. I’m not going to go to school. I hate school.'”

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) say they learned about the alleged incident on March 2 and are investigating.

“No child should experience what has been reported, and we apologize for the impact it has had on the student and their family,” says TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird.

“We are working to complete this investigation as soon as possible and will support the student and their family in any way we can.”

Bird says the Principal, Vice Principal and a teacher at the midtown school have all been put on home assignment while the investigation is ongoing.

Large group of parents defend teacher in wake of allegations

A group of 35 parents are now speaking out following the concerning allegations against the teacher. One specific parent, whose daughter is in the same class as the student involved, shared a petition signed by the group in which they defend the teacher.

“That is over 95 per cent of all parents with a child enrolled in the teacher’s current class. The majority of signatories to this petition are racialized parents and include black parents as well,” said Dhruv Jain.

“As you can see from our petition, we take the allegations of anti-Black racism seriously but also affirm our support and admiration for the teacher who is an extremely dedicated, attentive, and caring teacher who has worked hard to create a safe learning environment for all of our children.”

The petition states that the aforementioned group of parents demands that an investigation into the allegations be conducted “in a fair and timely fashion” and include the voices of parents who have children in the teacher’s class.

Advocacy group calling for inquiry into anti-Black racism at Ontario schools

An advocacy group, Parents of Black Children, is calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission to initiate an inquiry into anti-Black racism in schools as a result of the allegations.

On Tuesday, the organization officially launched an “advocacy framework” to respond to the pushback they say they are receiving from some school boards and how they address anti-Black racism.

Charline Grant, the co-founder of Parents of Black Children, said after the mother’s story became public Monday, two other parents of Black children at the school came forward with allegations of racism, including that one of those children was detained in the “isolation room.”

The students, aged four and five, are in different classrooms, and the allegations in those cases have not yet been shared with the TDSB, she said.

Grant said she visited the school last week and saw the so-called “isolation room.”

“I was floored because it was like a broom closet,” she said, adding she couldn’t fully stretch out her arms while inside.

“This instance may have taken place at a Toronto school, but this is not an isolated incident,” says Parents of Black Children co-founder Kearie Daniel. “Due to our advocacy, the response we have seen from the TDSB has been swift.”

“This is the urgency that we need to see from all school boards in this province in resolving instances of anti-Black racism.”

The group claims parents often find they are ignored when they raise concerns. The new framework would aim to ensure parents are not left in a situation where school leaders don’t meet with them or their advocates.

With files from Tyler Griffin of The Canadian Press