The number of reported workplace violence and harassment incidents within the Algoma District School Board increased in the 2023-24 school year.
There were 1,844 reports of violence and harassment toward staff, which is up from 1,271 reported incidents of workplace violence and harassment in 2022-23 and double the number of approximately 900 reported incidents in 2018-19.
The most current numbers were shared with trustees at Tuesday’s ADSB regular monthly meeting by Joe Santa Maria, the board’s associate director of corporate services and operations.
However, a small number of students are leading support staff - such as educational assistants and early childhood educators - to file the majority of those reports.
“That is the trend for sure,” Santa Maria told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting. “Those are in specialized classrooms where there are less than six students with a wide range of needs within those classes.”
Santa Maria confirmed in an email to SooToday Wednesday that 1,318 of the 1,844 incidents (72 per cent) were related to 21 students in specialized classroom settings.
“The 21 students (out of our 10,500 students) have specific needs which would include high-needs autism,” Santa Maria said.
Two individual staff reported 343 incidents while 10 individual staff reported 607 incidents.
Within the total of 1,844 reported workplace violence incidents within the ADSB in 2023-24, 570 were in junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten, 465 were in Grades 1-3 and 549 were in Grades 4 to 6.
There were 1,130 reports made by support staff, 629 by elementary teachers, 61 by secondary teachers, one from a clerical worker and 23 from non-union workers for a total of 1,844 incidents.
Staff have the right to report workplace violence and harassment under Ontario’s Bill 168, Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace).
Staff are encouraged to report incidents through an online reporting tool developed by the Ontario Education Services Corp (OESC) for all school boards.
“This isn't an Algoma District School Board issue alone,” Santa Maria said.
Once a report of violence or harassment makes its way to the board, disciplinary action toward the student can be taken if the ADSB deems it necessary. Suspensions or expulsions of students are the last resort.
Santa Maria said the ADSB works to help both staff and students in dealing with workplace violence.
“We have significant training in place for staff who work with our students. We will continue to communicate and work with all worker groups/unions to continue to mitigate. We also continue to budget for some smaller specialized classes (we currently have 26 classes Board wide with less than six students) to help some students with more targeted supports,” Santa Maria said in an email.