The vice principal of a school in Comox Valley was fired after asking male students to show her their underwear so she could check whether or not they had left soiled underwear and feces in the washroom.
A report released by the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation outlines the events that led to the decision to fire Delphine Yvette Andrée Guérineau, vice principal of École Au-coeur-de-l’île.
On June 19th, 2018, a soiled pair of boys’ underwear was found on the lid of a toilet in the boys’ bathroom, and feces was on the floor next to it.
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Vice principal Guérineau addressed the issue as the school’s principal was off site, and decided to determine who the underwear belonged to.
According to the report, she did so by having the school secretary announce that she would be visiting the classrooms of students in grades 3-6 to check if the boys were wearing underwear.
She proceeded to do just that, and had each male student show her the waistband of their underwear.
Then, all the grade 7-11 boys were assembled in a hallway, and Guérineau had them all display the waistband of their underwear as well to determine if they were wearing one.
Consequences
Two days later, in the aftermath of this incident, Guérineau was placed on paid leave by School District 93, pending a full investigation.
Within three months, she was fired from her position as vice principal of École Au-coeur-de-l’île.
Soon after her dismissal, an online petition in support of Délphine Guérineau was created by Vanessa Groult.
“I am all the more outraged by this decision since, during the investigation of which Ms. Délphine Guérineau was the subject, no person from the CSF came to meet the community, parents, staff and students to try to understand the situation as well as the circumstances that led to this incident,” writes Groult.
“I also disapprove of the CSF, which asks a qualified, dedicated and esteemed employee to leave while the school is already understaffed.”
The petition has since garnered 51 signatures.
