By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Nanaimo teacher disciplined for locking autistic boy in storage room

May 24, 2017 | 5:45 PM

NANAIMO — A Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools substitute teacher has been suspended after admitting to locking a six-year-old autistic boy inside a storage room.

According to the published agreement between the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation and Sherri Lee Loewen, the suspension followed an incident on Sept. 16, 2016 involving a boy who was having a “temper tantrum.” 

Loewen was issued a letter of discipline by the school district on Nov. 7 and was suspended from the teacher on-call list between Oct. 26 to Nov. 8, 2016. That represented a four day suspension without pay.

According to the agreement, an education assistant of Loewen’s moved the boy to a storage room and was called away to deal with another child. Loewen then closed the storage room door, locking the boy inside. She opened the door once, but closed it again after the boy “yelled at her.”

The commissioner’s agreement noted while the storage room door had a window, Loewen did not stay at it to supervise if the child was safe.

Making an impact

Nanaimo woman publishes books to open awareness of neurodiverse children

2h ago

iconic voice

Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole, a welcome voice for a half-century, dead at 90

9h ago

first response

New staffing model on Gabriola Island hires local paramedics for enhanced patient care

14h ago

The boy was then found “curled up in a ball, crying” by the education assistant with Loewen no longer in the room.

Loewen was also assigned a six-hour course called “Non-Violent Crisis Intervention.”

She agreed to a two-day suspension under the Teacher’s Act to take place on May 29 and 30, 2017.

island-news@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version referred to the storage room as a locker in the headline.