B.C.-wide Tracker monitors student classroom clearings

When one student’s escalating behaviour prompts a teacher to clear the classroom, it disrupts learning for all students.

The Surrey District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) has now launched an online tool that allows educators and caretakers, such as parents, to keep track of the number of classroom clearings.

The goal of the Room Clear Tracker is to collect data that will help paint a clearer picture of the frequency of classroom clearings, who is affected, and what systemic supports are missing to prevent them from happening.

DPAC president Anne Whitmore says it points to a system that leaves teachers under strain when educators seem compelled to clear the classroom.

“Too few supports for complex learners. Too many students with complex needs in one classroom, too few education assistants. Too many classrooms where teachers and staff are left to manage the unmanageable,” Whitmore said when presenting the tool.

Situations in which students yell, throw items, or flip furniture may prompt the teacher to do so.

“It happens far more often than people realize,” Whitmore explained.

“We don’t know how many students are being excluded or how much learning is being lost, and these experiences just vanish from the record.”

She says that clearing a classroom is a form of exclusion.

“When a classroom is cleared, every student experiences exclusion, including the one whose stress response led to the incident. We need transparency to understand the scale of this problem and take action.”

Initiative aims to show need for smaller classes

The initiative, which is launched during Community Inclusion Month, aims to show the need for smaller classes and more educational staff at schools across the province.

“Teachers see the toll this takes on every learner,” said Amrit Sanghe, president of the Surrey Teachers’ Association, in a written statement.

“A room clear represents a system that has run out of options, not a child who has run out of chances. We need smaller classes, more support, and the resources to create real inclusion in practice.”

The organization makes clear that the tool will not be used to put blame on students, but rather to track and collect data on “hidden exclusions.”

“The Room Clear Tracker is an act of care for students who are struggling. Care for staff who are exhausted and care for school, communities that want to do better but need the truth and the support in order to change,” Whitmore said.

In Addition, the tracker initiative will complement the investigation by the B.C. Ombudsperson who is currently investigating exclusionary practices in public schools.

The Room Clear Tracker is a province-wide initiative that is available as of Monday.

With files from David Nadalini.