Kamloops educator suspended for failing to report disclosed sexual assault, presenting unverified information to class

Later that year, while serving as a teacher-on-call for a Grade 8 social studies class at another SD73 school, Winter told students to put their phones away – but not in their pockets near their “reproductive zones.”

“She went on to tell the class that, based on a study, cell phone radiation could affect their ability to reproduce or have children, that it could alter their DNA resulting in birth defects and that ‘if you don’t want to potentially be wiping your child’s bum for the rest of its life, you may want to think about making a habit of not keeping electronics in the reproductive zone,’” the agreement reads.

When two students challenged the claim, Winter told students she had seen a popcorn kernel pop when placed between two cell phones and they could “take it or leave it” when referring to the information she shared. Winter made her assertion based on a video she had seen, although she didn’t tell that to the students.

Following a slide presentation, Winter was periodically on the classroom teacher’s computer looking up information on firewood hot tubs. Her scrolling was shown on the classroom projector following the slideshow as the computer was set to screen sharing.

On June 27, SD73 suspended Winter for one day without pay and issued another letter of discipline. She served the suspension on Oct. 2, 2023.

“The District also temporarily removed her qualifications for counselling positions within the District for a period of six weeks and advised her that she would be required to complete coursework at the District’s direction. The District had not identified any coursework for Winter to complete before her retirement from the District 21 months later, and therefore she has not completed any,” the agreement reads.

Commissioner Donnaree Nygard finds that Winter’s actions regarding the student who reported a sexual assault negatively impacted the community’s feeling of trust and safety in the education system. Regarding the cell phone claim, Nygard finds Winter’s comments to be demeaning when describe people with disabilities while presenting information to her class as factual, based on an unverified video.

The full agreement can be found here.

by Aaron Schulze

Kamloops educator suspended for failing to report disclosed sexual assault, presenting unverified information to class

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