Photos of a wooden box, allegedly used for student “time outs” at an elementary school in Akwesasne, drew shock and anger from parents this week and have prompted an investigation by the school district.
Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, near Cornwall, Ont., straddles the Ontario, Quebec and New York state border. St. Regis Mohawk School is a kindergarten to Grade 5 school on the U.S. side, and is one of four schools in the Salmon River Central School District.
Chrissy Jacobs, a resident of Akwesasne and a former Salmon River Central School District board member, posted the photos to Facebook Monday after they were sent to her by a teacher who’d recently resigned from the school.
A statement published to the school district’s social media on Monday attributed to Superintendent Stanley Harper said the box depicted in the photos had not been used at St. Regis school and that the district had previously decided not to use that specific device.
Jacobs said four parents came forward at a community meeting on Tuesday night who said their children had “identified the box and said they were put in that box.” Jacobs said they went to the police.
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Service said matters were pending investigation and it wouldn’t be able to provide any further comment.
While some parents were shocked, others say the school has a history of mistreatment and are demanding action to improve conditions for their children.
The statement posted to social media Monday said the school district allows for the use of time outs in two situations: when a situation poses immediate concern for someone’s physical safety, or in conjunction with a behavioural intervention plan “designed to teach and reinforce alternative appropriate behaviours.”
“Any space used for time out, as well as the circumstances leading to its use, must meet strict legal and regulatory requirements,” the statement said.
Thomas Hathaway, a parent from the Saint Regis Mohawk Reservation at Akwesasne, said his partially non-verbal son Connor, 8, was put inside the box.
The box was located in his son’s classroom. Hathaway said he heard the box was built for an autistic student in Connor’s class.
He said his son communicated to him children who are angry or sad go in the box when they need to “calm down.”
“[My son] had to watch his friend get put in there, and that’s what hurt him more than actually going in there,” he said.
He said his son, who is typically “gentle and easy going” has been acting out more this year, which Hathaway thinks is a result of seeing the box used.
Early Thursday, Salmon River Central School District Board of Education notified parents of a switch to remote learning for the rest of the week.
In an emailed statement, the Board of Education said it was aware of parents’ allegations concerning restraint and seclusion in the form of wooden boxes used as “calming stations” at district schools.
The statement said the district had launched an independent investigation and that it was co-operating with a New York State Department of Education (NYSDE) investigation. The statement said representatives from NYSDE would conduct monitoring site visits this week to confirm the removal of “all boxes.”
Jacobs said she learned there may be two other boxes in use by the school district in other schools. In its statement to CBC Indigenous, the school district did not clarify how many boxes it used.
The statement said Harper was reassigned to home duties pending the investigation and the district’s Director of Special Education Allen Gravell, St. Regis Mohawk School Principal Alison Benedict and teacher Karrie Haverstock had been placed on administrative leave.
Harper and Benedict did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“The Board of Education extends its sincere apology to our students, families, and community members who have been deeply affected by the ongoing situation,” board president Jason Brockway said in the statement.
“We recognize the pain, concern, and distress these events have caused, and we are truly sorry for the harm and trauma this has resulted for our community.”
The statement acknowledged the incident “has reopened historical wounds and trauma connected to the mistreatment of Native children.”
Jacobs said many of the parents, survivors of Indian residential and day schools or children or grandchildren of survivors, were triggered upon seeing the photos.
“It says St. Regis Mohawk School on that building but there’s nothing Mohawk about that place,” Jacobs told CBC Indigenous.
“The only reason why we send our kids there is because that’s the school on the American portion of the reserve. That’s what we have.”
At the community meeting on Tuesday and district school board meeting on Wednesday night, several parents said complaints regarding their child’s mistreatment were dismissed or ignored by staff and school officials over the years.
Parents said that school officials threatened to alert child protective services when they requested to pull their child from the school or did not want to comply with a child’s disciplinary measure when it seemed too harsh.
“I was an active school board member and I pulled my children out and home schooled them for a school year,” Jacobs said.
“I was disgusted and I couldn’t send them. And they tried to come after me with social services.”
She said parents also fear repercussions when they speak out, like putting their job in jeopardy if they have to take time off if their child is expelled.
On Wednesday night Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, the community’s government on the U.S. side, asked the school board in a letter to issue a vote of no-confidence in the superintendent and for an independent investigation.
“We do not take this lightly,” said the letter.
“It is clear what transpired should have never happened, and our children deserve better from those in charge of their care, especially district leadership and key decision-makers… There is no resolving this with the continued involvement of current district leadership. Trust has been broken with the community.”
