The situation at Bedford elementary school has raised concerns about student safety and reignited the debate over secularism in Quebec. Here’s what a government report found.
In the wake of a damning government report, 11 teachers at a Montreal elementary school were suspended last weekend for allegedly creating a “toxic” work environment.
The situation at Bedford elementary school in Côte-des-Neiges has raised concerns about the students’ safety and reignited the debate over secularism in Quebec.
Here is an overview of what the 89-page report found at the school.
How long has this been going on?
The controversy was first brought to light by a series of investigative reports from Montreal’s 98.5 FM beginning in May of last year.
The reports detailed how a “dominant clan” of teachers had created a toxic environment at the school by imposing strict rules on students and intimidating anyone who opposed them.
The Quebec Education Ministry’s investigation into the school, made public this month, confirmed the radio station’s findings. But it also sought to nuance certain aspects, stressing some allegations were related to isolated events that took place over a long time period.
The government’s investigation was conducted between November 2023 and April of this year. It included interviews with 73 people and detailed events between 2016 and 2024, a period during which the school saw a quick succession of directors and staff come and go.
According to the report, tensions were already boiling at Bedford as early as the 2017–18 school year.
Eight teachers left the school at the end of that year, and the divide between teachers that would mark the following years was already taking shape.
Who are in the opposing groups of teachers?
The report describes the group of problematic teachers as being mainly of North African descent, some of whom attended a local mosque together.
However, it emphasizes there are also teachers of North African descent in the opposing group denouncing their behaviour — including some of the most vocal critics.
Rather than focusing on cultural or religious differences, the report describes the conflict as two groups with clashing ideologies.
“The clans present different visions and understandings of education, pedagogy and relations with students,” the report states.
The report details arguments and heated staff meetings, attempts at addressing the situation being ignored or outright rejected, and “witch hunts” taking place when concerns were raised about certain teachers.
While the conflict mainly involved teachers and staff pitted against each other, the report found students also felt the tensions and their academic performance likely suffered as a result.
How does religion factor into the situation?
Though it addresses the question of religion, the report is more nuanced on the matter.
It states the local mosque carried a “strong influence” on several of the school’s staff members. During one school year, for example, representatives from the mosque visited management to stress the importance of maintaining good relations with Muslim families in the neighbourhood.
The report also notes that several witnesses told government investigators members of the mosque intervened on occasion to ensure the school’s education model was in line with the “cultural model” favoured by the community.
However, the report states those claims could not be substantiated, “given the limits of the mandate.”
In terms of religious practices inside the school, the report says investigators found few examples.
Staff members reported witnessing certain teachers praying in classrooms or performing ablutions in communal bathrooms, it notes. For the most part, these were not done in the presence of students, but performed on teachers’ own time.
In the rare cases they were done before students, the report says, management quickly addressed the issue, “and there seems to have been no subsequent recurrence.”
Were the students subjected to verbal or physical abuse?
The report found the “dominant clan” of teachers often resorted to repressive techniques or humiliation tactics in the classroom.
For instance, a student who didn’t do their homework would be asked to stand by the wall in class. Some students would also be told they were a “lost cause” or belittled in front of their peers.
The atmosphere could be so heavy that many classes took place in near-complete silence, investigators were told. The problematic teachers were also known to reject any criticism of their approach to teaching.
In terms of physical violence, investigators heard reports of teachers reportedly pulling on students’ ears or shirt sleeves. In one case, a teacher is alleged to have pushed a student to the ground.
The report stresses the incidents were never documented by the service centre, however.
“While the situations reported are troubling when taken as a whole, the majority of Bedford school staff emphasize that they are mostly anecdotal,” the report says. “Students are not physically abused in the school, nor are they in any pressing danger. Far from it.”
Did the students’ education suffer?
The report is clear that many of the students at the school were not provided with the level of education they deserve. Several staff members raised concerns that students were not learning at a pace they would be expected to for their age.
Most teachers at the school relied on what’s described as a “traditional approach” to teaching, the report says, with little interaction between teacher and student.
Science, religion and sex education courses were either not being taught or barely taught, and young girls were reportedly told they were not allowed to play soccer because it was a sport “reserved for the boys.”
The report notes some teachers also believed learning difficulties and autism don’t exist and that excessive discipline and control could manage to “break” some students and get them “back on the right path.”
There was also abundant evidence that specialists were often not allowed into classes to help students who needed it, since the teachers preferred to manage things their own way.
“This approach sometimes results in students being deprived of services to which they would be entitled,” the report states, “and from which they could derive great benefit.”
Where does the school stand now?
At the time it was completed in June, the report maintained there was a serious risk of the problematic group of teachers “taking control of the school.”
“The status quo cannot be maintained any longer,” it concluded.
Both the service centre that governs the school, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, and the union representing its teachers have come under fire and defended themselves in light of the controversy.
The Education Ministry is also investigating similar allegations at three other schools managed by the same service centre.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has set in motion a review of its school secularism policies to see if they need to be modified or applied more aggressively.