Latest news with #Hamilton-WentworthDistrictSchoolBoard
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Elementary teacher accused of sexual assault placed on leave before criminal charges
The 44-year-old elementary school teacher arrested Wednesday on sexual assault and sexual interference charges was 'immediately' placed on administrative leave when allegations first surfaced, Hamilton's public school board says. According to police, 'several victims' came forward in April to report allegations of sexual assault that occurred at Rockton Elementary School and involved a teacher working there. Ryan Barrett now faces three counts each of sexual assault and sexual interference. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said Thursday 'we take these allegations very seriously and are fully co-operating' with police. 'When the allegations were reported, we worked expeditiously to support student safety and Ryan Barrett was immediately placed on administrative leave,' Jason Alexander, the board's chief executive officer of human resources, said in an emailed statement. It remains unclear how many victims have come forward. Hamilton police did not respond to questions Thursday. Under the Criminal Code, a charge of sexual interference specifically involves someone under the age of 16. The board wouldn't say when Barrett started working at the Highway 8 school. Barrett received his teaching licence in 2008, according to his Ontario College of Teachers profile, which still lists him as being in 'good standing.' A spokesperson for the college said they are aware of the allegations, but noted criminal charges against members are only added to profiles 'once official court documents are obtained.' 'By law, the college is unable to comment on any investigations or complaints,' the spokesperson said when asked if there will be an independent probe into the teacher's alleged conduct. Investigations by the college are separate from criminal proceedings. Barrett will remain on administrative leave until his case is resolved in court, according to the school board. The board said it's committed to maintaining 'a safe and respectful environment for all students and staff.' 'Our care and concern are with those affected by this situation, and we are committed to providing support to students, staff, and families of the Rockton Elementary School community during this challenging time.'
Hamilton Spectator
14-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Teenager arrested after making threats with ‘hate-bias overtones'
Police have arrested a teenager after he allegedly threatened students at a Hamilton Mountain high school . The 18-year-old was arrested after he allegedly 'made threats to cause harm or death toward students' at Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School, police said in a news release Tuesday. The threat, which according to officers, had 'some hate-bias overtones,' was also directed at a business in the area of Upper Wentworth Street and Mohawk Road East. 'It was a general threat toward a particular set of students,' said police spokesperson Const. Trevor McKenna. He declined to share details, but said 'it was more of a general threat: 'I'm going to go do this.'' The teen arrested was also a student at the school, McKenna said. McKenna said he can't confirm whether the business — a store — is any way connected to students or the school. The teen was arrested 'without incident,' and faces a charge of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, the release reads. Police say there's no longer any concern for public safety. He was arrested off school property, McKenna said. It doesn't appear to be related to any 'retribution or a beef between students,' he said. 'This was an isolated situation not related to any other events at the school,' Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board spokesperson Allison Reynolds said in a message. She also said there has been 'lots of support' for students and staff at the school. Students at the Upper Sherman Avenue school have been connected to several violent incidents in recent months, including arrests related to a BB gun and bear spray , interschool brawls and a car chase that resulted in a fatal crash. In October, Jayden Russell , a 15-year-old student at St. Jean de Brebeuf, was killed in a high-speed crash police said stemmed from a conflict between the Catholic high school and Henderson, its public counterpart about a kilometre away.
Hamilton Spectator
12-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Rubber ducks, real impact: Students champion mental health with scavenger hunt
There was a buzz among Bernie Custis students on Wednesday morning as they raced around the school opening doors and lockers, peering over ledges and rooting around in planters, searching for dozens of hidden rubber ducks. By 10 a.m., most of the 200 of the colourful plastic toys hidden around the school, each bearing a message of encouragement, had already been found. Occasional rubber-duck squeaks sounded in hallways and classrooms. Last week was Mental Health Week, and the King Street East school — and 27 others in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board — are working to create awareness and destigmatize psychological well-being with a rubber-duck scavenger hunt. It's meant to encourage, spark conversations and build community. Grade 11 student Nikole Silverman, 17, shows some of the locations the rubber ducks bearing positive messages were hidden in around Bernie Custis Secondary School. Ducks, said board manager David Hoy, are 'a playful yet powerful metaphor' that has resonated with students. 'Like ducks who appear calm on the surface while paddling hard underneath … many students relate to the hidden struggles behind a composed exterior,' he said. The idea originated at Bernie Custis in 2023, a take on the trend of leaving ducks on Jeeps as an act of kindness. Students hid 60 ducks, which they soon realized weren't enough. Grade 9 student Alina Hussaini, 14, holds one of the 200 rubber ducks hidden around Bernie Custis Secondary School. Alina is part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's mental health advocacy group. 'It was chaos, but in a good way,' said Grade 11 student Nikole Silverman, 17, adding there was chatter in the hallways as people compared ducks and shared messages. The idea took flight and, two years later, more than two dozen elementary and secondary schools have hidden hundreds of small, multicoloured rubber ducks as a way of promoting positive school climates. At Bernie Custis, ducks had names like Bob, Ying, Sirius Quack and Duck Vader. Some were named after people, pets and food, like 'Cheese,' students said. Grade 11 student Nikole Silverman, 17, shows the message on a blue duck named Saoirse at Bernie Custis Secondary School. Pieces of paper tied to their necks bore messages like: 'It's OK not to be OK.' Messages are written by students for students, and organizers hope it makes people feel 'that's something someone else has felt,' said Nikole, who was part of the team behind the idea. 'It just brings joy to people,' she said. Bernie Custis Secondary School principal Timothy Powell stands with two rubber ducks hidden in his office. A student advisory panel for mental health, which has membership from several schools, including Bernie Custis, created a tool kit with announcement scripts, posters and materials for a duck scavenger hunt, and promoted the initiative. 'Students have been the drivers of the campaign,' Hoy said. 'We really like how the students have embraced it and shared it across their networks, allowing it to grow,' he said. Grade 11 students Nikole Silverman and Maiya Six, both 17, show off two of the 200 rubber ducks hidden around Bernie Custis Secondary School on Wednesday morning. Nikole and Maiya were part of a team that came up with the idea for a schoolwide scavenger hunt using rubber ducks bearing positive messages as a way to create connections and spark conversations about mental health. Years ago, mental-health issues were something you either had or didn't, said principal Timothy Powell. But the conversation has shifted. 'We all have to be attentive to what's the state of our current mental health, and what do we need to address, what do we need to talk about,' he said. 'That's a powerful reframing in terms of how we think and talk about mental health.'
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Sunshine list: How much does Hamilton's highest-paid teacher make?
Hamilton's highest-paid teacher made $190,843.50 in 2024. Seventeen more made upward of $150,000, according to the provincial list of public-sector employees paid $100,000 or more. An additional 1,246 public and Catholic staff, largely teachers, were added to Ontario's sunshine list, which grew by about 25 per cent to a record 377,666 public servants. Teachers made up the majority of that growth. The number of Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board staff on the list increased dramatically to 2,738, compared to 1,879 the previous year. The number of Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board employees on the list also grew to 1,673 from 1,286 in 2023. This year's compensation gains followed an arbitrator decision that Bill 124, legislation capping public-sector wages at a maximum annual increase of one per cent, was unconstitutional. The 2019 legislation was repealed, and the province had to pay public-sector workers, including teachers, billions of dollars in retroactive payments. Hamilton's biggest public sector salaries dropped to their lowest level in 16 years. Here's who These 'lump sum' payments pushed more teachers over the threshold, public board spokesperson Renata Kuzma said in an email. This means some teachers, who at Catholic high schools make between about $58,000 and $117,000 (though it can differ depending on level of education), will drop below the $100,000-threshold again next year, said Sergio Cacoilo, the president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association for Hamilton secondary schools. Still, more teachers have permanently joined the sunshine list as wage grids increase. 'Going forward, we expect to have a higher number of teachers on this list relative to 2023 levels,' Kuzma said in an email. Teachers, Cacoilo said, work well beyond the afternoon bell — coaching, leading extracurricular activities, fundraising and lesson planning. Sometimes, they act as a second parent, and often face aggression and violence in the classroom. The job has changed 'drastically' in recent years, he said. 'Are teachers deserving of the $100,000? Maybe I am biased, but absolutely,' Cacoilo said. 'Teaching is not those six hours.' Education, said Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers' Local president Cindy Gangaram, is the 'greatest investment into the future of this province,' and paying fairly in 'difficult times' helps retain teachers. 'It's not enough, but it is a move in the right direction,' she said. In 2022-23, Ontario teachers made, on average, between $56,340 and $103,982, depending on level of experience and years taught, according to Statistics Canada . Teachers are well paid, said David Johnson, a Wilfrid Laurier economics professor who has studied compensation among Canadian educators. His own research from 2014 found that Canadian teachers were paid well compared to other professions, in part because most 'belong to unions with a considerable amount of bargaining power,' he said. Once dominated by city bureaucrats and public health officials, chiefs across Ontario now sit The study, which also compared teacher salaries by province, also found that higher wages didn't equate to better student performance. At the top of the list of local school board staff are education directors, associate directors, superintendents and managers, as well as a handful of principals and teachers. No educational assistants or custodians made the list. Several top-paid teachers, including the top earner at the Catholic board, are listed as being seconded to unions. Others, however, are unexplained. Unions say some teachers work summer and night school for additional pay. Hamilton Catholic secondary teachers, for example, make approximately $4,000 for one month of summer school, Cacoilo said. Teachers can also be seconded to the Ministry of Education, a university or other organization, Gangaram said. 'They would then … fall under that compensation package,' she said. Catholic education director David Hansen made $255,559.77 in 2024, up significantly from $219,205.63 in 2022. The change, Daly said, was related to the elimination of a superintendent position and a 'realignment of additional responsibilities' among senior administration. He also noted the director and other members of senior administration are within the established compensation framework. Public board education director Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini made more in 2024 at $265,980.72. Some experts say the list of high-end salaries is becoming irrelevant, the Star reported .
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Sunshine list: What does Hamilton's highest-paid teacher make?
Hamilton's highest-paid teacher made $190,843.50 in 2024. Seventeen more made upward of $150,000, according to the provincial list of public-sector employees paid $100,000 or more. An additional 1,246 public and Catholic staff, largely teachers, were added to Ontario's sunshine list, which grew by about 25 per cent to a record 377,666 public servants. Teachers made up the majority of that growth. The number of Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board staff on the list increased dramatically to 2,738, compared to 1,879 the previous year. The number of Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board employees on the list also grew to 1,673 from 1,286 in 2023. This year's compensation gains followed an arbitrator decision that Bill 124, legislation capping public-sector wages at a maximum annual increase of one per cent, was unconstitutional. The 2019 legislation was repealed, and the province had to pay public-sector workers, including teachers, billions of dollars in retroactive payments. Hamilton's biggest public sector salaries dropped to their lowest level in 16 years. Here's who These 'lump sum' payments pushed more teachers over the threshold, public board spokesperson Renata Kuzma said in an email. This means some teachers, who at Catholic high schools make between about $58,000 and $117,000 (though it can differ depending on level of education), will drop below the $100,000-threshold again next year, said Sergio Cacoilo, the president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association for Hamilton secondary schools. Still, more teachers have permanently joined the sunshine list as wage grids increase. 'Going forward, we expect to have a higher number of teachers on this list relative to 2023 levels,' Kuzma said in an email. Teachers, Cacoilo said, work well beyond the afternoon bell — coaching, leading extracurricular activities, fundraising and lesson planning. Sometimes, they act as a second parent, and often face aggression and violence in the classroom. The job has changed 'drastically' in recent years, he said. 'Are teachers deserving of the $100,000? Maybe I am biased, but absolutely,' Cacoilo said. 'Teaching is not those six hours.' Education, said Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers' Local president Cindy Gangaram, is the 'greatest investment into the future of this province,' and paying fairly in 'difficult times' helps retain teachers. 'It's not enough, but it is a move in the right direction,' she said. In 2022-23, Ontario teachers made, on average, between $56,340 and $103,982, depending on level of experience and years taught, according to Statistics Canada . Teachers are well paid, said David Johnson, a Wilfrid Laurier economics professor who has studied compensation among Canadian educators. His own research from 2014 found that Canadian teachers were paid well compared to other professions, in part because most 'belong to unions with a considerable amount of bargaining power,' he said. Once dominated by city bureaucrats and public health officials, chiefs across Ontario now sit The study, which also compared teacher salaries by province, also found that higher wages didn't equate to better student performance. At the top of the list of local school board staff are education directors, associate directors, superintendents and managers, as well as a handful of principals and teachers. No educational assistants or custodians made the list. Several top-paid teachers, including the top earner at the Catholic board, are listed as being seconded to unions. Others, however, are unexplained. Unions say some teachers work summer and night school for additional pay. Hamilton Catholic secondary teachers, for example, make approximately $4,000 for one month of summer school, Cacoilo said. Teachers can also be seconded to the Ministry of Education, a university or other organization, Gangaram said. 'They would then … fall under that compensation package,' she said. Catholic education director David Hansen made $255,559.77 in 2024, up significantly from $219,205.63 in 2022. The change, Daly said, was related to the elimination of a superintendent position and a 'realignment of additional responsibilities' among senior administration. He also noted the director and other members of senior administration are within the established compensation framework. Public board education director Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini made more in 2024 at $265,980.72. Some experts say the list of high-end salaries is becoming irrelevant, the Star reported .
