Suspension for BC teacher who tried to give teen his phone number

A BC teacher, who tried to give a high school student his phone number after he met her working in a bar where he was drinking, has been suspended for four days.

According to an Oct. 7 BC Commissioner for Teacher Education decision, Duane Oliver Kirkpatrick met the 17-year-old student while sitting at the bar in a local bistro before then meeting them in a store shortly afterwards.

“Kirkpatrick was persistent in his conduct with (the) student when it should have been apparent to him that it was unwelcome,” the BC Commissioner for Teacher Education said in the decision.

The decision said that while Kirkpatrick sat at the bar, he got talking to the teen who occasionally passed through while working.

The teacher complimented the teen on her hair, and she told him she was doing a hairstyling program affiliated with her school.

Kirkpatrick was wearing a shirt with his school’s logo on it, and the two began chatting about the rivalry between their schools.

The two talked for about an hour before the teen left work, telling the teacher she was going to Walmart to wait for her boyfriend to pick her up.

While the teen was in Walmart, Kirkpatrick appeared at the store in the same aisle.

“Kirkpatrick told (the) student that he was there to pick up some toiletries, although he did not have a shopping basket and ultimately never purchased anything,” the decision read.

As he chatted to the student, he touched her shoulder and flicked her on the forehead.

“Kirkpatrick noticed that (the) student looked concerned and uncomfortable after he had made physical contact with (the) student,” the decision said.

The teacher then asked the teen to look at candles with him in another part of the store.

“When looking at candles, Kirkpatrick reached over and pulled down (the) student’s facial mask, unhooking it from the ear, so that (the) student could smell one. Kirkpatrick saw that (she) looked concerned as he did this,” the decision read.

He then asked her if she had a boyfriend.

“(She) was very uncomfortable at this point but stayed in the store to wait for their boyfriend to arrive. Kirkpatrick stayed close to (the) student but did not purchase any items,” the decision said.

Before she left to meet her boyfriend, the teacher asked for her phone number.

The teenager again stated that she was 17 years old and had a boyfriend.

Following the incident, which took place in December 2021, Kirkpatrick was suspended from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district for 10 days and ordered to complete a Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries course.

The school district then handed the file to the teachers’ regulator.

“In pursuing a student for the purposes of a personal relationship, Kirkpatrick failed to treat the student with respect, made them feel unsafe, and failed to act as an appropriate role model,” the regulators said.

Kirkpatrick signed a consent agreement admitting to his conduct and the Commissioner issued the teacher a four-day suspension.