A Whistler middle-school teacher with a history of disciplinary action going back a decade will have her teaching certificate suspended for two days this month by the B.C. Commission for Teacher Regulation.
In the Jan. 3 consent resolution agreement, acting commissioner Donnaree Nygard wrote that teacher Alexandra McLean “has engaged in a pattern of similar conduct and has been previously told by her employer that she needed to be mindful of the manner in which she interacts with her students.”
The suspension stems primarily from two separate matters in 2021. The agreement says that, on March 15, 2021, McLean was teaching a Grade 7 fine arts class. A group of five students, working on a project that involved filming a skit they had written, were using a small weight room to record. Before leaving the room, McLean reportedly instructed the students not to play with the weights and gym equipment for safety reasons.
A short while later, the report said McLean was passing by the weight room when she saw a student swinging a kettlebell. She reportedly ran into the room, yelling at the students, and directing them back to the classroom. Students in the class “perceived McLean as being angry,” the report said. McLean then quickly collected scattered gym equipment in her arms, before kicking a balance board back to its storage spot against a wall. One student reported feeling scared by McLean’s actions, while another reported feeling anxious.
Occurring at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, students and School District 48 employees were expected to wear face masks and follow physical distancing requirements. One of the students in the weight room had lowered their face mask and, after McLean asked the student to wear it properly, she reportedly “reached out and pulled the mask over Student A’s mouth and nose when Student A did not comply,” the report said.
Back in the classroom, Student A told their classmates that Mclean had adjusted their mask, which led to another student asking why she had done that. McLean “exclaimed loudly to Student A: ‘I didn’t touch you, why are you saying that?’”
The following day, School District 48 placed McLean on paid leave, pending the completion of its investigation. She returned to school April 12. On May 6, 2021, the district issued McLean a letter of discipline and suspended her for two weeks without pay. The following week, the district made a report to the commissioner.
The second matter involved a number of events that purportedly took place after April 12, 2021, when McLean was again teaching a Grade 7 fine arts class. The report said McLean yelled at the students in her class, that she would “sometimes take pencils and papers abruptly from students’ hands,” and made negative comments to students about their class. Some students reported feeling they were “disappointing her,” the agreement went on. It also noted McLean told a student, “I won’t let you leech off this group,” in front of several of the student’s classmates.
On April 19, 2021, she received a letter of expectation reminding her to uphold the district’s respectful workplace policy, to create an “atmosphere of emotional safety” for students, to follow the direction of her supervisor, and to ensure her actions contribute to students' wellness and dignity.
On June 8, 2021, the district again issued McLean a letter of discipline and suspended her for three weeks without pay. As of Sept. 1, 2021, she was reassigned to a teacher-on-call position.
These weren’t the first times the district disciplined McLean. On May 14, 2018, she was issued a letter of discipline and suspended for two weeks without pay following allegations she had made “unnecessary physical contact with and yelled at students in her elementary school class,” the acting commissioner wrote.
On March 13, 2015, McLean was sent a letter of expectation after she had made physical contact with a student that the district ultimately concluded was not intentional. On Dec. 19, 2014, the district sent her a letter of expectation reminding her “she was expected to exercise sound judgment in her interactions with students.”
As part of the consent resolution agreement, McLean’s teacher qualification certificate will be suspended Feb. 20 and 21 this month. She has also agreed to complete six counselling sessions by June 27, 2025 with a registered psychologist or clinical counsellor. The sessions “will focus on interpersonal communication and increasing awareness of how McLean’s actions are perceived by her students,” the report went on.
As part of the deal, McLean has also agreed not to make any statement orally or in writing that contradicts, disputes or calls into question the terms of the agreement or the admissions made in it.
Pique has requested comment from the Sea to Sky Teachers’ Association and will update this story if we hear back.
View the full ruling here.
