Students, parents concerned over bullying and cultural sensitivity issues at Thunder Bay, Ont., school

Families are raising concerns about ongoing violence and bullying at a Catholic middle school in Thunder Bay, Ont., a situation that led a First Nation chief in the area to speak to the school boards and the hiring of security guards.

Pope John Paul II is one of three middle schools for Grade 7 and 8 students in the northwestern Ontario city.

In April 2022, Pamela Kaartinen started a Facebook group called Concerned Parents of Pope John Paul School. With about 230 members at publication time, the group's posts include parents sharing stories about bullying that have been reported to the school. 

Kaartinen told CBC News that before posting in the group, parents must address their issues with the school directly, and include the school's response. Only parents with children who attend the school are allowed in the group.

Families have been sharing concerns pertaining to physical, verbal and online bullying, and about students recording and posting videos of fights online.

Recently, security guards were hired to address escalating concerns at the school, which is on the former grounds of St. Joseph's Indian Residential School. As the only middle school on the city's south side, it's attended by many students from Fort William First Nation, an Ojibway First Nation on the western shores of Lake Superior.

Things like healing circles where everybody sits down, and has a conversation and is heard, and it's led by somebody who understands what that healing circle is supposed to be and is Indigenous would do a lot to help that situation.- Savannah Upton, parent

CBC News spoke with parents who say their children have experienced bullying. They want more accountability from the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board (TBCDSB), and more mental health and cultural support for students.

"Part of sending my daughter to that school and to that school board was me trying to build a bridge and mend something that I knew was broken — and it has gone horribly wrong," said Savannah Upton of Fort William First Nation whose grandfather attended St. Joseph's. 

Upton said her 13-year-old daughter Georgia has an individual education plan (IEP) and attends school in half-day intervals because of ongoing bullying. The family is trying to get Georgia diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

CBC News asked the TBCDSB for an interview but was sent an emailed statement instead. It reads, in part:

Bullying is an issue that we take very seriously. This behaviour will not be permitted.- Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board

"Bullying is an issue that we take very seriously. This behaviour will not be permitted. Schools continually work to create safe environments where bullying does not occur. As a board, we do not condone this behaviour, and respond to incidents of bullying appropriately." 

Georgia and her mom say the issues at Pope John Paul II include a lack of cultural awareness for Indigenous students. Last semester, the school brought in a man, whom Georgia believed was a priest. Georgia said he touched her head while offering a blessing that she didn't want, and she slapped his hand away.

"My child is an intergenerational residential school survivor. She did not want this priest touching her," Georgia's mom said. "When she came home and told me what happened to her, it was a violation that I've never felt before. That was a whole new feeling for me."

In regard to this specific incident Georgia references, the board's statement says the man was a deacon and was there for confirmation preparations, and "in no way, would clergy be brought in to assist with behavioural changes or student wellness — this would go against [Ministry of Education] regulations and our code of conduct.

"Clergy participate in spiritual leadership with sacraments, the celebration of mass and liturgical observances within our schools ... it is not standard practice to have clergy arbitrarily enter our schools and offer blessings to our students." 

Calls for healing circles

Georgia said she sees fights nearly every day in the hallways, students "gang up" on each other and the bullying continues after the bell rings.

"They'll get bullied for the way that they dress, or the way that they look or if they're overweight. They get made fun of for what [vehicle] their parents pick them up in and stuff, and it's really, really gross."

While the school has a cultural room where students can smudge, because of Georgia's modified school schedule, she can't always use it.

"I wish there [were] ways I could just make people stop bullying other people because it just makes me so upset," Georgia said. "My mental health has definitely [gotten] way worse since joining Pope."

Instead of school suspensions, Savannah Upton wants to see a more proactive approach to conflict resolution. 

"Things like healing circles where everybody sits down, and has a conversation and is heard, and it's led by somebody who understands what that healing circle is supposed to be and is Indigenous would do a lot to help that situation."

The board's statement said school guidance teachers, Indigenous counsellors, social workers and a strong mental health team as options for students, and Indigenous counsellors are available to meet with Indigenous students to connect one on one.

Cultural sensitivity, support

Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon said she met with the TBCDSB and Lakehead District School Board after hearing about escalating violence at the school. A couple of days later, security guards were hired.

Solomon said it's important to recognize the stressors affecting middle school-aged students that may contribute to bullying, such as identity issues, hormonal changes, technology and social media.

After learning Georgia was blessed by a priest without her consent, Solomon said religious-based schools must consider how to become more culturally sensitive.

"We really should be taking a step back, and looking at the whole picture and looking at ways to offer [religious support] differently, so that they're not being imposed on young people."

She would also like to learn more about the cultural support offered at the school; she wasn't aware Pope John Paul II had a cultural room, for example, before speaking with the Uptons.

The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board offered information about the cultural room at Pope John Paul II: 

"This room is a sanctuary where Indigenous traditions and practices can be honoured and preserved," it said. "Incorporating a culture room within many of our schools, is a step towards reconciliation and demonstrates our commitment to acknowledging and valuing diverse traditions that enrich our school communities." 

Looking at root causes

Thunder Bay parent Amii Whitney said her eldest son, who has autism, couldn't make it through a full year at Pope John Paul II because of bullying. Now, her middle child is also seeing and experiencing bullying.

"My son was coming home with bruises on his face," Whitney said. "He was coming home in tears with what kids had said or done to him."

Whitney said school staff have been supportive, but she wants more done to address the root causes of bullying.

"Typically there's something behind that, right? Whether or not it's the child has something that's undiagnosed, untreated, or whether it's an issue in the home."

Tracy Vaillancourt is a tier-1 Canada Research Chair in school-based mental health and violence prevention. She is also a professor of counselling psychology at the University of Ottawa.

Vaillancourt said bullying often peaks at middle-school age and bullies tend to fit one of two groups:

• Those who struggle with emotional regulation and self-control, who tend to come from more dysfunctional homes. These students are more likely to use physical bullying. 
• Those who come from more typical backgrounds, who abuse their power and privilege to exert control over their peers. These students are more likely to use social bullying.

  When you're 80 years old, you do think back of what happened if you were bullied in childhood, and it still causes you harm.- Tracy Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa professor

   

The latter group is four times more likely to bully others, "but what we do is we concentrate our efforts on those really dysregulated kids because they're really obvious to teachers," Vaillancourt said.

"We're ignoring the kids who are more Machiavellian in their use of aggression, the ones that are more strategic — so they're really prosocial in front of the teacher, but quite antisocial on the playground."

Long-term effects of bullying

Students in an environment where there's frequent physical bullying come to feel that it's a normal situation, resulting in an escalation of more aggressive violence, said Vaillancourt.

Bullying in all forms can deeply affect students' mental and physical health, issues that can persist into adulthood, she added.

"It's like a scar that doesn't heal," Vaillancourt said. "When you're 80 years old, you do think back [to] what happened if you were bullied in childhood, and it still causes you harm."

While Vaillancourt said it's not uncommon to have security guards at schools, her research suggests increased supervision is the best way to reduce bullying.

Having parent volunteers monitor students during the lunch hour, for example, can help ease the strain on school staff.

As for prevention, she said parents need to remember how their children often mimic their behaviour.

Next year, Georgia will attend Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, a First Nations high school operated by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.

Her advice to others who are being bullied is to tell their parents or guardians, and try to find a good group of friends they can trust.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on its website.