An external review of School District 27’s (SD 27) climate and culture has revealed a mixed narrative around school safety measures within the Cariboo Chilcotin school district.
The review, ordered by the Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) and conducted by Safer Schools Together (SST), explored the day-to-day experience in schools across SD 27 in response to questions of safety and inclusivity.
“It’s a big move forward moment for us,” said Cheryl Lenardon, superintendent of SD 27, following the publication of an executive summary on the report in May.
The 171-page report is currently being analyzed and redacted for privacy by ministry staff. Over 2,575 community members took part in the review which began by holding meetings with school and district leadership in December 2024.
“Our job is to capture the strengths and stretches of districts,” said Rob Rai, senior executive consultant with SST, whom the ministry has referred to as B.C.’s safety experts.
Rai explained that SST conducts reviews across North America, helping schools see how they are doing and what they can improve on.
“It’s no different than self-reflection,” he said.
SST met with community service providers in January and with local First Nations on Feb. 3. Surveys were then finalized by SST and distributed to district staff, caregivers and students in grades six to 12 across the district between Feb. 18 to Feb. 27. Rai said this is a standard method of collecting information as objectively as possible.
“We report back what the data tells us as opposed to what we feel...because we’re only here for a snapshot,” Rai explained. He said it was also important to focus on the data alone because the researchers’ initial impressions could be impacted by their biases.
“We have a vested interest in honouring the culture and climate,” Rai said, adding that SST’s review process is not about looking to find something but rather it is about asking the right questions to determine what the culture and climate is, good or bad or in between.
Rai said the surveys did include some pointed questions along with universal questions. They were sent to school administrations, and teachers were expected to direct their students to answer the surveys online at school. Parents and caregivers were able to answer the survey online or request a hard copy from the school. Online questionnaires were automatically sent back to SST once submitted, and paper copies were sealed and mailed back to SST.
There were also 188 printed copies sent home, one with each eldest child in a family. Only five print-based questionnaires were returned to SST.
“It appears that some schools may have delayed sending them home,” the executive summary notes.
A total of 1,844 students - out of a total district population of 4,600 students - 375 educators and 400 parents completed the surveys, which provided opportunities for responders to share anonymous feedback.
The survey has not gone without its criticisms. Community leaders from Esk'etemc, a First Nations community southwest of Williams Lake, and members from the group Concerned Parents and Caregivers of Williams Lake (CPWL) have cast doubt on SST's independence from the ministry. They have also raised concerns about the survey’s effectiveness, distribution and design.
MECC has repeatedly referred to SST as B.C.’s trusted, independent safety experts.
Four main categories of recommendations can be pulled from the executive summary, and SST suggested the district may need external support to develop and successfully implement a comprehensive plan.
“It came with some good validation of some of the work that’s being done, and it came with some really good recommendations that we will be taking as a mandate,” Lenardon said when asked what her main takeaways were from the review.
She said the report showed many of the families in the district have had a positive experience, and that school-level communications seem to be a strength. She also said the report found the district was doing so much work on visibly honouring and respecting local Indigenous cultures that some responses said there was an over-representation.
“Which means that we’re doing a good job, and we’ll keep doing that. It’s really important and we’ll keep doing education around why that’s important,” Lenardon said.
She said the district has made "huge strides" when it comes to addressing anti-racism and specifically anti-Indigenous racism, noting it’s become part of the regular school experience to honour local Indigenous cultures. She also said every professional development day includes sessions on anti-racism and on local Indigenous cultures.
However, Calvin Dubray, education director with Esk’etemc and a past SD 27 employee, feels lots of the work being done around honouring Indigenous cultures and providing anti-racism training is simply so the district can ‘check a box.’
“You can send teachers to trauma-informed workshops, but how does that relate back into the classroom,” Dubray said. “Until you address the deeper roots of what’s happening...you’re really not addressing what’s happening.”
Communication was another aspect the review said would need addressing and Lernadon said the district has already begun work on this.
“It’s about ensuring that students and families have ways of reaching out if they do have something that’s concerning to them,” she said.
Part of the work the district will be doing is revisiting policy and procedures to ensure they are up to date and align with each other. This will include changing how the district communicates the avenues through which community members with individual concerns can reach out.
This has been a particular point of contention among families and community members in recent years with some who have claimed they were silenced or ignored when coming forward with concerns of violence and bullying in schools. George Hobi, a member of CPWL, and Dubray have said following the district’s communication protocol simply sends you through never-ending loops.
When asked if adjustments to communication protocols would be made, the superintendent said there would not be.
“That’s not going to change because it’s about communicating and solving your problems at the level at which they happen and then having ways to escalate that if all the avenues are exhausted,” Lenardon said. “That’s a pretty universal process and it makes sense, and it fits within the pattern that you would expect, and it works.”
Lernadon said work has already begun on improving school safety and culture as well, another theme identified in the review. The district has changed how schools are accessed, replacing keys with fobs which can be deactivated if lost, and district staff are receiving the latest threat assessment training. A series of student assemblies and corresponding presentations for parents are being planned for the next school year, with presentation themes pulled from the SST review as well as from consultation with the District Parent Advisory Committee. Assemblies will also be held at every school in the district upon return from summer, Christmas and spring breaks to review the code of conduct and to learn about the erase Report It tool and how to use it.
Lenardon said students can use the tool if they are uncomfortable speaking with a trusted adult in their school. She said there are times throughout school days when students are permitted to use their mobile devices or can access laptops, computers and workstations within the school through which they can use the reporting tool.
However, Dubray and Hobi feel the tool is not proactive, claiming responses to reports can take weeks. Dubray, who sits on FNEC, said when the council asks the district what their plan is to address bullying, violence and racism, the response is the reporting tool.
While the SST review may bring awareness to their cause, Dubray is not satisfied.
“The piece that’s still troubling is that they (the district) don’t want to sit down and talk through solutions.”
Dubray said the review is “laughable,” and that it doesn’t serve what Esk’etemc and CPWL have and will continue to call for, which is an independent investigation.
Efteen asked Rai from SST if the review could be considered an investigation, and he said it was not.
Dubray also reiterated an ongoing concern he and CPWL have had with the review which was their inability to participate in its co-development.
“It’s not the end of the road for us...we’re still calling for an investigation,” Dubray said, adding there needs to be an opportunity for school and district staff to share their experiences without fear of being reprimanded.
Rai assured Black Press the surveys were anonymous and sent directly to SST without the district’s involvement.
Hobi also said CPWL would continue to call for an investigation, adding that the group felt unheard and unrepresented in the SST report. CPWL, in fact, was not invited by SST to meet prior to the distribution of the surveys and was only able to attend such a meeting because Esk'etemc invited them to the Feb. 3 meeting with SST.
“MECC needs to recognize that the community, in particular CPWL, lost the complete trust in the personnel of the trustees and superintendent to solve the bullying and violence crisis,” Hobi wrote to Black Press.
Lisa Beare, minister of education and child care, met virtually with Esk’etemc Chief Fred Robbins, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip and members of CPWL in early May.
The ministry said it expects SD 27 to take immediate action in partnership with First Nations and community partners as it works on the recommendations set out in the SST report.
