Allegations of discrimination and racism at Montreal-area elementary school

“Mommy, I don’t want to go back to school I scared. I said why are you scared sweetheart. Because they hurt Constantin all the time. This is what he said to me,” said Svetlana Chernienko, who claims her son who has Autism was discriminated against and assaulted by school personnel.

“He caused physical damage to my son. When I got to the school to see the condition that my son was in. Was not the condition I sent him in,” said Karen Freeman, who claims her son was allegedly assaulted by school staff.

Two families are alleging their children were victims of racism and assault by school personnel at Saint Patrick elementary school in Pincourt, Quebec west of Montreal.

The parents say they have reported the incidents to teachers, the school principal, the Lester B. Pearson School Board and the school’s ombudsman but feel their concerns have been dismissed.

“The ways described by both parents of how they felt ignored and neglected by the Lester B. Pearson School Board are strikingly similar. There appears to be a systemic problem here,” said Joel DeBellefeuille, Founder and Executive Director for the Red Coalition.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board says it “categorically denies all allegations made by the two parents and all complaints have been investigated.”

“On the 30th my worst nightmare came to life when he was physically assaulted. He’s been out of school since. Had to monitor my son to make sure there was no blood in his urine. Right now he’s being homeschooled. I just hold the schoolboard responsible for what my child is going through because I reached out to them for support and they didn’t help me,” said Freeman.

Kathleen O’Reilly, regional director at the LBPSB denies the allegations and says the child has a history of misbehaving and posed a risk to the other children in the school. O’Reilly claims the child assaulted the principal and a teacher.

The child was expelled from school. But the school board claim they offered support for the child’s education as is legally required.

“I came to drop off my son like any other day. There was another integration aid that I recognized because she’s the one who had assaulted him at the other school. I dropped him off and I asked for the regular integration aid she had an emergency she’s not here don’t worry I’ll take care of him. My son started screaming and crying because she came to approach him when I turned around. As I turned around she grabbed my son by his arm twisted it yanked it, almost dislocating his arm he was screaming,” said Chernienko.

The LBPSB claims the integration aid in this incident was not the same one that worked at Edgewater elementary school who had allegedly assaulted Chernienko’s son.

The Red Coalition says it has sent a letter to the Lester B. Pearson School Board on April 28, 2023 requesting a meeting with the “Anti-Racism Task Force” to seek justice for the families and has giving them seven days to get back to them.

The school board denies the alleged assaults and says it plans to meet with the Red Coalition, mandated by the families to handle their cases, to resolve the matters.

In a statement to CityNews the school board said:

“The parents’ complaints have been handled at the school board level where numerous meetings were held or offered. In one instance, an investigation of the student ombudsman is still ongoing. In the other instance, the parent chose not to follow-up with the student ombudsman, who could therefore not proceed with the investigation. Throughout this matter the Lester B. Pearson School Board has gone above and beyond to accommodate the students involved by offering numerous solutions and options, which unfortunately have been rejected by the families. As well, after it learned of the Red Coalition’s request to meet on Friday, April 28, the school board had every intention of meeting with its officials. We are surprised and disappointed the Red Coalition decided to turn to the media instead of respecting the deadline they had indicated. An invitation will be sent to them to resolve these matters as expeditiously as possible. Finally, the LBPSB is committed to continue playing a key role in the fight to combat all forms of injustice, racism and discrimination, whether it is based on sexual orientation, gender, ability, ethnicity or religion both inside and outside of our classrooms and centres. Lester b. Pearson school board administration.”