Management at the secondary school in Laval, where a teacher was brutally attacked by a 13-year-old girl on Monday, failed in its mission to protect staff and students by failing to offer resources to the attacker, who is known for his troubles , believes the union leader.
• Also read: A teacher is attacked by a 13-year-old student
• Also read: Brawl involving 200 students outside a Brossard high school
“There was no safety net around this young girl,” said André Arseneault, president of the Laval Region Education Union. We know that this is a student who was not doing well, probably because of her mental health, and she would have needed help, but she didn’t have it. »
André Arseneault, President of the Laval Region Education Union. Courtesy of the Laval Region Education Union
trivialization of violence
Reports of violent events have exploded in the last decade, he explains. His union experiences a downright trivialization of violence by school principals and service centers. As evidence, he cites the fact that a plan to combat violence in schools was presented last year. Mr. Arsenault claims that the Laval School Service Center rejected him without much explanation.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon at the Odyssée-des-Jeunes high school when the 13-year-old girl was in the fine arts class. After an incident, the nature of which is still unknown, the 65-year-old teacher expelled the young girl from school.
“She asked the student to leave the class and the student grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground and punched her in the face and body,” a colleague explained under the guise of anonymity to protect his job .
According to Mr. Arseneault, she also threw a chair in his direction.
The students who were in the class rushed to get help and special education teachers (TES) quickly intervened to calm the situation.
Three hours before I call the police
For unknown reasons, the school waited three hours before contacting police.
“Of course, the plan was to communicate with the police, but at the time of the events the priority remained to provide support to the teacher, students and teams involved and to ensure a safe and peaceful conclusion to the day,” said Annie Goyette , assistant director of the Laval School Service Center Communications Office.
Despite the severity of the attack, no ambulance was called and an employee himself drove the victim to the hospital in his private vehicle.
“The teacher has a concussion and bruises,” confirms her colleague.
The 13-year-old student was arrested by the Laval police for armed assault and was temporarily expelled from school.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.