Former student not surprised by issues in independent school reports

Caitlin Erickson says she isn’t fazed in the slightest by the information included in administrator reports on some of Saskatchewan’s independent schools.

The reports were released by the Saskatchewan NDP, which the opposition party acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The reports offer more details on what was found at Legacy Christian Academy in Saskatoon, Grace Christian School in Saskatoon and Regent Christian Academy in Prince Albert.

Last year, allegations of serious abuse, along with academic and curriculum issues, were raised in relation to the schools.

Erickson, a former Legacy Christian Academy student currently involved in a $25-million lawsuit against the school and its affiliated church, Mile Two, said she wasn’t happy to see the reports released in redacted form.

“The lack of transparency was pretty disappointing,” she said.

Given that the school receives money from the province, Erickson said the information should have been released in full.

Between Erickson’s own experiences and information she said she was made privy to, the incidents and issues outlined in the reports were not shocking to the former student.

Those include students facing penalty for activities during their personal lives on evenings or weekends and outside of school or church.

“That was very concerning, because that behaviour … was going on when I attended 17 years ago,” Erickson said with a laugh. “So this whole ‘we’ve changed’ thing doesn’t really look like change.”

Erickson noted an incident in the report where the administrator identified a student needed help, but action was refused by the church board, which Erickson said also oversees the school.

Erickson said that was also consistent with her own experiences at Legacy.

“Anyone who had a learning disability, you were spanked. You were not given any sort of help,” she shared.

Not attaining a very high academic standard resulted in punishment and was seen as an act of wilful disobedience, Erickson said.

“When you don’t have certified, actual educated teachers, you don’t have people that can identify those things,” she said.

The report also noted that an individual listed in the statement of claim of the lawsuit against Legacy Christian Academy and Mile Two Church was requested to be brought to the school by another staff member.

“The fact that they’re not following the rules is no shock to anybody that’s been through that school or that church,” Erickson said. “Having staff just completely disregard everything the students have been saying and not listening to us or trying to gaslight or calling us liars … it just really speaks to the culture that has not changed there.”

While inspection reports date back to 2011, Erickson said that the report said the curriculum taught at Legacy still remains unaligned with provincial standards more than a decade later.

“Why are the rules so different for this specific place?” Erickson asked.

Erickson placed blame on the provincial government, as well as the school and church.

“The government has a responsibility when they allow schools to be open, whether they’re funding them or not … The importance needs to be the children that are attending there and making sure that they’re getting a good education and in a safe environment,” she stated. “The government has failed on that front.”

Erickson said governments should be on top of these issues to protect students.

“When you have the information and know better, you need to do better,” she said.

And while the information in the reports was largely negative, Erickson said it was validating that concerns she and other former students have been raising are being verified.

So what’s in these reports? Here are some pages of the reports about Legacy and what’s in them. These reports were written by Min of Education staffer, Mike Walters. pic.twitter.com/t0Mg5pBmeU

— SaskCate (@CateSask) May 3, 2023