A report released this month detailed the suspension of a B.C. teacher following a controversial lecture to a group of high school students.
The confrontation took place between a teacher and a group of Grade 11 and Grade 12 students who arrived at school cross-dressed in support of an LGBTQ student.
The teacher, Tami Lynne Chechotko of Elkford Secondary in the East Kootenays, told the group of students that she was disappointed in them for how they chose to support their peer and the LGBTQ community.
As per the report, Chechotko said the student's actions were “disrespectful and offensive, like painting your face black or wearing a feather headdress” and that cross-dressing could make students “question someone’s sexuality which could potentially result in suicide.”
Despite the school’s vice principal reassuring Chechotko it was a non-issue, the teacher tracked down the students and continued to harass the group, allegedly becoming “loud and agitated” while again lecturing the students about why their cross-dressing was inappropriate.
The report revealed Chechotko was suspended without pay for two days on Jan. 25, 2017.
However, the report also revealed the teacher has a history of being reprimanded.
In June 2016, the South Kootenay School District issued her a letter about not making “upsetting statements” to a vulnerable student about her family.
In September of that same year, she was told to stop providing advice to students that was different from what the school recommended and to not interfere with students’ course selection or graduation.
The Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, an independent statutory decision maker, oversees all discipline processes and addresses concerns about the competence and conduct of certificate holding teachers.
