A new report from the Ontario Catholic Teachers Union suggests there is a shocking amount of violence in schools, and some of it goes unreported.
The teachers union said its affecting safety and learning conditions in schools.
Linda Gordon of Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association in the North Bay area said she hears of incidents every week and it's escalating beyond control.
“You're getting chairs thrown at teachers, teachers being bitten, punched, educational assistant’s being thrown across the room,” said Gordon.
“Those are happening on an ongoing basis."
A recent survey found nearly 99% of Catholic teachers have experienced a form of violence or harassment, many of them multiple times.
“It's scary when a teacher is frightened to go to work. It's scary when you hear a teacher saying before she goes into the classroom, she has to mentally prepare herself, that's a frightening reality that a lot of our teachers have.”
Former North Bay elementary school mental health counsellor Julie Lavictoire said she saw the effects of violence on the students, firsthand.
“It impacted them negatively,” said Lavictoire.
“They weren't able to focus on their own schooling or education needs, they were focused on how to make sure they were safe and the teachers weren't watching 100% of the time'
Gordon said she noticed an increase in the number of violent incidents in the classroom following a change in the funding model from the ministry of education
"So, if I have a student that has behavioral issues and they need access to an EA, that there's funds to provide the EA,” she said.
A statement from the local catholic school board reads in part:
“We take all concerns of student and staff safety very seriously and follow reporting procedures through our safe schools policy.”
The union said it will analyze the data collected in the survey, and it will forward it to the Ministry of Education.
