A McMaster University professor who advised former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government on education will help review how Hamilton’s public school board can better respond to bullying in the wake of October’s stabbing death of a high school student.
Dr. Jean Clinton, who specializes in child psychiatry and is renowned for decades of advocacy on children’s issues, joins two other panel members selected by trustees on Nov. 12 to lead the independent review — all with ties to McMaster.
They are tasked with consulting students, parents, guardians, school staff and the community, and then making recommendations to the board by the end of May.
The other members of the panel are:
Brenda Flaherty, a former executive officer with Hamilton Health Sciences who is currently an assistant nursing professor at Mac and has an extensive background working with organizations like the YMCA.
Gary Warner, a former Mac professor whose lengthy resumé on human rights, anti-racism, immigration, poverty and social justice issues includes work with the Strengthening Hamilton Community Initiative and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
The review panel will be advised by five experts with backgrounds in special education, child psychology, mental health and violence prevention.
“All of these individuals are Hamilton-based. All of them are highly skilled. All of them bring a diverse professional background from outside of education in order to provide an independent review,” board chair Alex Johnstone said of the three review panellists.
“That was extremely important, that Hamilton perspective was brought in order to work with our board and work with our community to work through what has been the most important issue that our board is working through at this time.”
Trustees unanimously approved striking the review panel at their Oct. 28 board meeting but were unable to agree on its composition following nearly two hours of closed debate.
It took another similarly lengthy closed session on Nov. 12 to reach a decision.
Johnstone said the extra time allowed trustees “to ensure we got the panel right” to respond to calls to address bullying following the stabbing death of 14-year-old student Devan Bracci-Selvey outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School on Oct. 7.
Two teens, aged 14 and 18, are charged with first-degree murder in what critics say was the result of the board’s failure to act on complaints about ongoing bullying of the victim.
“The safety and security of students and staff is our board’s top priority,” Johnstone said. “Trustees and the board know how important it is to get this work right because it’s about our community’s most precious asset: our children.”
Education director Manny Figueiredo told trustees on Oct. 28 he expects the review to cost $100,000 to $150,000, depending on how much outside research and expertise is required.
While he said trustees can tap a $1 million contingency budget for unanticipated expenditures, Johnstone said the board is also looking to other local and provincial funding sources.
The board’s annual student surveys have repeatedly identified bullying and safety at school as a concern.
Last year’s survey, for instance, showed slightly more than one in 10 high school students “rarely or never” felt safe at school, while nearly one in five said they didn’t have an adult at school who cared about them.
Among elementary students, 48 per cent of students in Grades 4 through 6 reported being physically bullied — 15 per cent weekly or more — while 36 per cent in Grades 7 and 8 did so, 11 per cent of them weekly or more.
A McMaster University professor who advised former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government on education will help review how Hamilton’s public school board can better respond to bullying in the wake of October’s stabbing death of a high school student.
Dr. Jean Clinton, who specializes in child psychiatry and is renowned for decades of advocacy on children’s issues, joins two other panel members selected by trustees on Nov. 12 to lead the independent review — all with ties to McMaster.
They are tasked with consulting students, parents, guardians, school staff and the community, and then making recommendations to the board by the end of May.
The other members of the panel are:
Brenda Flaherty, a former executive officer with Hamilton Health Sciences who is currently an assistant nursing professor at Mac and has an extensive background working with organizations like the YMCA.
Gary Warner, a former Mac professor whose lengthy resumé on human rights, anti-racism, immigration, poverty and social justice issues includes work with the Strengthening Hamilton Community Initiative and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
The review panel will be advised by five experts with backgrounds in special education, child psychology, mental health and violence prevention.
“All of these individuals are Hamilton-based. All of them are highly skilled. All of them bring a diverse professional background from outside of education in order to provide an independent review,” board chair Alex Johnstone said of the three review panellists.
“That was extremely important, that Hamilton perspective was brought in order to work with our board and work with our community to work through what has been the most important issue that our board is working through at this time.”
Trustees unanimously approved striking the review panel at their Oct. 28 board meeting but were unable to agree on its composition following nearly two hours of closed debate.
It took another similarly lengthy closed session on Nov. 12 to reach a decision.
Johnstone said the extra time allowed trustees “to ensure we got the panel right” to respond to calls to address bullying following the stabbing death of 14-year-old student Devan Bracci-Selvey outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School on Oct. 7.
Two teens, aged 14 and 18, are charged with first-degree murder in what critics say was the result of the board’s failure to act on complaints about ongoing bullying of the victim.
“The safety and security of students and staff is our board’s top priority,” Johnstone said. “Trustees and the board know how important it is to get this work right because it’s about our community’s most precious asset: our children.”
Education director Manny Figueiredo told trustees on Oct. 28 he expects the review to cost $100,000 to $150,000, depending on how much outside research and expertise is required.
While he said trustees can tap a $1 million contingency budget for unanticipated expenditures, Johnstone said the board is also looking to other local and provincial funding sources.
The board’s annual student surveys have repeatedly identified bullying and safety at school as a concern.
Last year’s survey, for instance, showed slightly more than one in 10 high school students “rarely or never” felt safe at school, while nearly one in five said they didn’t have an adult at school who cared about them.
Among elementary students, 48 per cent of students in Grades 4 through 6 reported being physically bullied — 15 per cent weekly or more — while 36 per cent in Grades 7 and 8 did so, 11 per cent of them weekly or more.
A McMaster University professor who advised former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government on education will help review how Hamilton’s public school board can better respond to bullying in the wake of October’s stabbing death of a high school student.
Dr. Jean Clinton, who specializes in child psychiatry and is renowned for decades of advocacy on children’s issues, joins two other panel members selected by trustees on Nov. 12 to lead the independent review — all with ties to McMaster.
They are tasked with consulting students, parents, guardians, school staff and the community, and then making recommendations to the board by the end of May.
The other members of the panel are:
Brenda Flaherty, a former executive officer with Hamilton Health Sciences who is currently an assistant nursing professor at Mac and has an extensive background working with organizations like the YMCA.
Gary Warner, a former Mac professor whose lengthy resumé on human rights, anti-racism, immigration, poverty and social justice issues includes work with the Strengthening Hamilton Community Initiative and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
The review panel will be advised by five experts with backgrounds in special education, child psychology, mental health and violence prevention.
“All of these individuals are Hamilton-based. All of them are highly skilled. All of them bring a diverse professional background from outside of education in order to provide an independent review,” board chair Alex Johnstone said of the three review panellists.
“That was extremely important, that Hamilton perspective was brought in order to work with our board and work with our community to work through what has been the most important issue that our board is working through at this time.”
Trustees unanimously approved striking the review panel at their Oct. 28 board meeting but were unable to agree on its composition following nearly two hours of closed debate.
It took another similarly lengthy closed session on Nov. 12 to reach a decision.
Johnstone said the extra time allowed trustees “to ensure we got the panel right” to respond to calls to address bullying following the stabbing death of 14-year-old student Devan Bracci-Selvey outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School on Oct. 7.
Two teens, aged 14 and 18, are charged with first-degree murder in what critics say was the result of the board’s failure to act on complaints about ongoing bullying of the victim.
“The safety and security of students and staff is our board’s top priority,” Johnstone said. “Trustees and the board know how important it is to get this work right because it’s about our community’s most precious asset: our children.”
Education director Manny Figueiredo told trustees on Oct. 28 he expects the review to cost $100,000 to $150,000, depending on how much outside research and expertise is required.
While he said trustees can tap a $1 million contingency budget for unanticipated expenditures, Johnstone said the board is also looking to other local and provincial funding sources.
The board’s annual student surveys have repeatedly identified bullying and safety at school as a concern.
Last year’s survey, for instance, showed slightly more than one in 10 high school students “rarely or never” felt safe at school, while nearly one in five said they didn’t have an adult at school who cared about them.
Among elementary students, 48 per cent of students in Grades 4 through 6 reported being physically bullied — 15 per cent weekly or more — while 36 per cent in Grades 7 and 8 did so, 11 per cent of them weekly or more.