Accusations of violence, discrimination surface at another Mississauga school

In the wake of an anonymous letter alleging out-of-control violence and “disorderly conduct” at a Mississauga school, a second letter has been posted that claims a culture of violence and discrimination exists at another public school in Peel Region.

The letter, posted to Twitter by lawyer Michael Teper, contains a bullet point list of incidents over the last three years at Homelands Senior Public School, located near Dundas Street West and Erin Mills Parkway in Mississauga.

Among the allegations presented are racial slurs being used by students, discriminatory language used against 2SLGBTQ+ students, vandalism throughout the school, student swarmings and violent fights, and teachers being threatened with violence.

https://twitter.com/MichaelTeper1/status/1662437043077611520

The letter also singles out administrators for a lack of discipline, discouraging teachers from filing violent incident reports and “consistently blaming teachers for not being ‘engaging’ enough.”

The letter goes on to say that more than 20 staff members at the school have been placed on mental health leave as a result of the working conditions over the last three years.

The letter concludes by saying the new principal installed at the school has been a “positive and impactful leader” but adds that change takes time. It also notes that the former principal has been redeployed to another Peel school and that staff there are “scared due to her reputation.”

“We cannot change the past, but it is imperative that we do not repeat the same mistakes by simply moving administration around and without demanding answers from the superintendent or the board at large,” reads the letter.

CityNews has reached out to both the school and Peel District School Board (PDSB) for comment on these latest allegations.

On Wednesday, a letter supposedly written by a staff member at Tomken Road Middle School – also posted to social media by Teper – claimed students, teachers, and staff have faced countless unsafe interactions and that the school climate is one of “violence” and “fear.”

On Friday, a PDSB spokesperson told CityNews that the behaviours described in the anonymous letter about Tomken Road Middle School are not accurate.

“In fact, we’ve been hearing from students who are upset to see their school being depicted so poorly online,” said Malon Edwards.

Edwards did confirm that an investigation into the letter’s contents is ongoing and that the board is aware of some of the specific incidents alleged in the letter.

Teper later posted that he has filed a Freedom of Information request asking the PDSB to turn over all records related to facts presented in its statement Friday regarding the situation at Tomken Road Middle School.

https://twitter.com/MichaelTeper1/status/1662526413931438081