B.C. principal suspended for duct-taping elementary school student to chair

An empty desk and chair is seen in front of a chalkboard in this undated file image. (Glasshouse Images / Getty Images)

A British Columbia elementary school principal has been suspended for five days after duct-taping a student to their chair, allegedly to help the child focus on their schoolwork.

The details of the principal’s misconduct were published Tuesday in a summary of a consent resolution agreement signed by the principal and the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

According to the summary, the misconduct occurred during the 2023-2024 school year, when Renee Dawn MacCormack was employed by the Southeast Kootenay school district.

MacCormack “gave permission to an employee at the school to use duct tape to tape a student to their seat to help the student focus on their work,” according to the summary, which noted the principal “also put duct tape on the student to attach the student to their seat.”

When MacCormack returned later, she took a picture of the student’s work before helping to remove the duct tape and giving the student “a prize for completing the assigned work,” the summary says.

The school district launched an investigation into the duct-taping incident, but MacCormack did not admit to any involvement, the provincial regulator said.

As a result of the district’s investigation, MacCormack was suspended without pay for 20 days and reassigned to another school on June 18, 2024.

One week later, commissioner Ana Mohammed ordered her own investigation into the incident after receiving a complaint about the principal from the school district.

As a result of the commissioner’s investigation, MacCormack signed the consent resolution agreement on Jan. 3, admitting that her actions constituted misconduct contrary to the Professional Standards for B.C. Educators.

As part of the agreement, MacCormack’s teaching certificate was suspended for five days and she was ordered to complete a training course on creating a positive learning environment before the end of March.

The principal “did not act in the student’s best interests nor treat the student with dignity and respect,” the commissioner found.

“MacCormack had a leadership role as a principal and she ought to have known that duct-taping a student to a chair was inappropriate; other staff at the school were aware that it was inappropriate,” according to the consent agreement.

“MacCormack did not act with integrity when she did not disclose to the district in a timely manner her participation in the duct-taping of the student. This conduct undermines the perception of the profession as a whole.”