Latest news with #JohnPeterRocca
The Province
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Province
B.C. teacher banned a year for pattern of improper touching, inappropriate chats with students
Abbotsford Canucks: Will Lockwood has Calder Cup incentive with red-hot Charlotte Checkers Moving Whitecaps from Vancouver would be 'a crime': FIFA vice-president High-profile Canadian track coach guilty of historic sexual abuse of his young athletes Abbotsford Canucks: Travis Green knows 'it's not a race' for Manny Malhotra to run an NHL bench B.C. teacher banned a year for pattern of improper touching, inappropriate chats with students John Peter Rocca has been repeatedly reprimanded for putting hands on students and inappropriate comments, making them feel uncomfortable Photo by Getty images Article content A longtime Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows teacher has been banned from teaching for a year after a repeated pattern of inappropriate and flirty comments and improper touching of high school students. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers Article content John Peter Rocca was handed the suspension after admitting to professional misconduct in a signed resolution with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, which was posted online Tuesday. Article content tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. teacher banned a year for pattern of improper touching, inappropriate chats with students Back to video tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Play Video Article content Rocca was reported to the local school district after a series of questionable interactions, especially with one student he taught math to in Grades 7, 8 and 9 between 2018 and 2021. In Grade 7, Rocca interrupted a lesson to comment on what the student was wearing and how the student looked. He would give the student 'fist bumps,' put his hand on the student's shoulder and around the waist. In Grade 8, he would go to the student's locker, lean against the student's shoulder and put his arms around the student's shoulders. He would also ask about the student's personal life. Canucks Report Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Canucks Report will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Article content Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Then in Grade 9, Rocca told students that if he won the lottery, he would open a school in Hawaii and only invite his favourite students, the only one from that class being the same student. At one point, he hit the student on the thigh with a rolled-up paper, making the student uncomfortable. While reprimanding two male students for immature behaviour, he said 'older men are better' and explained that was why girls like older men. He called female students 'small,' 'adorable,' 'sweet' and 'cute.' In 2021, another Grade 9 student was asked personal questions about the student's family, including the student's father whom Rocca had taught. At one point he came up behind the student and put a hand on the student's shoulders, and once said, 'Can you smile? You should smile more, you have such a nice smile.' Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Rocca would get very close to another Grade 9 student while speaking, and told the student, 'Oh, you're like a model' while balancing papers on the student's head. Rocca retired from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows district in 2021, but had a lengthy pattern of similar behaviour dating to 1988. That year, Rocca was suspended in the Langley school district over allegations of 'improper touching' of students and using offensive language. He resigned before the investigation was over. In 1998, a district superintendent told Rocca to stop giving rides to female students after basketball practices and games. Then in 2001, he allowed a student without a licence to borrow his car, and the student and two other passengers were hurt in a crash. Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content In 2003, he received a disciplinary letter over allegations he made 'unnecessary physical contact with female students and made comments to them of a personal nature, making them feel uncomfortable.' He was suspended for five days and told not to touch students. In the signed agreement that took effect in May, Rocca admits his behaviour amounts to professional misconduct. His one-year ban on applying for a teaching certificate was deemed appropriate because he failed to create a positive learning environment, 'caused physical and emotional harm to students' and engaged in a pattern of similar misconduct over the years. jruttle@ Read More Vancouver teacher suspended after pup fetish exposed B.C. teacher banned for sexual relationship with graduating student Article content Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
‘Girls like older men': B.C. teacher banned 1 year for behaviour around students
A teacher from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been disciplined for a series of incidents that included putting his hand around one student's waist, comparing another to a model, and telling others that 'girls like older men.' John Peter Rocca was teaching math in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District when the incidents took place between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years, according to a consent agreement he signed with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. The incidents mostly involved three students, who are only identified in the document as Student A, Student B and Student C to protect their privacy. Rocca began putting his hand on Student A's waist or shoulder while Student A was in Grade 7, according to the agreement. He would visit Student A's locker the following school year, sometimes leaning against Student A's shoulder and asking questions about Student A's personal life. At one point, Rocca joked to one of his classes that if he won the lottery, he would start a school in Hawaii for his favourite students – who included Student A and no one else present. Student A reported feeling uncomfortable because of Rocca's behaviour. The consent agreement notes that Rocca had previously been suspended over allegations of unnecessary physical contact with students in the same district back in 2003. 'Rocca agreed to conditions upon his return to work, including that he would not touch female students,' the consent agreement says. The teacher was also accused of 'improper touching of students' while working for the Langley School District in 1988, according to the document, but resigned before an investigation into the allegations could be completed. Incidents with other students Rocca's interactions with Student B included approaching Student B from behind and placing his hand on Student B's shoulder multiple times. He once said to Student B, 'Can you smile? You should smile more, you have such a nice smile,' according to the document. Rocca would 'get very close' when speaking to Student C, and once told Student C, 'Oh, you're like a model' while balancing papers on Student C's head. The consent agreement also details one incident in which Rocca was reprimanding two boys for immature behaviour, and made comments about how 'older men are better,' and that's why 'girls like older men.' During the same interaction, he referred to female students as 'adorable,' 'sweet,' and 'cute.' Rocca retired from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District in July 2021. The Commissioner for Teacher Regulation ordered an investigation into his interactions with students that fall, finding his behaviour constituted professional misconduct. Rocca agreed to a one-year ban on teaching in either public or private schools in the province. In deciding on the appropriate consequences, the commissioner considered a number of factors, including that Rocca 'failed to create a positive learning environment,' 'engaged in a repeated pattern of similar conduct,' and 'caused physical and emotional harm to students,' according to the agreement.
