Parents of children at a Surrey elementary school are concerned about escalating violence they claim is being displayed by a Grade 1 student with special needs.
Jessica Rahman told Global News she is keeping her five-year-old twin daughters home from Kindergarten because she fears their school is currently unsafe for them to attend.
“I refuse to send my children into this area where this child is,” Rahman, a Don Christian Elementary parent, said Friday.
“Our five-year-old daughter has been punched and kicked in the stomach.”
Strong reaction to report on violent incidents involving special needs students
A Social Development (SD) Program is integrated within Cloverdale’s Don Christian Elementary to meet the learning needs of students requiring intensive behavioural intervention, or experiencing serious mental illness.
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Rahman said a six-year-old boy receiving the additional support has been exhibiting violence when he is without adult supervision.
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“I’ve witnessed this individual attack other individuals on the school playground,” Rahman told Global News. “He’s screaming and swearing, ‘f–k you bitch,’ he uses the ‘C’ word, he fingers the teachers, he’s kicked the principal’s shins in, he’s loud and he’s scary.”
Parents, including Amanda Germyn, say they have a deep empathy for everyone involved, including the child’s parents, but that the school district has so far been unable to stop the ongoing acts of aggression.
“I want this child and every child to be able to be at school, but right now, it feels like safety is being prioritized below inclusion,” Germyn said Friday.
“And I don’t think it should come at the cost of every other student at the school.”
Surrey-Cloverdale BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko said parents “shouldn’t have to choose between inclusion and safety.”
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Sturko said support for children with complex needs is underfunded across the province and she’s reached out to Surrey Schools, Don Christian Elementary’s principal, and B.C. Education Minister Lisa Beare.
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“I really do look forward to sitting down and helping sort through this issue,” Sturko said.
“My opinion is that it probably is a resourcing issue.”
Rahman said she believes the child needs one-on-one supervision “at all times.”
Surrey Schools did not make anyone available for an interview on Friday.
In a statement, the district said “the safety of students is our number one priority, as is their privacy and confidentiality.”
Surrey Schools did not say what, if anything, is being done to address the situation at Don Christian Elementary.
Rahman said her five-year-old girls will remain at home until a safe solution has been found.
She added her other daughter in Grade 3 continues to attend the school, but only because she has martial arts training.
