A B.C. high school teacher from the Fraser Valley is facing consequences after bizarre encounters with a student from a different school in the same district.
According to a decision from the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, Duane Oliver Kirkpatrick was employed as a teacher at School District No. 42 (Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge).
The commissioner first received a report about Kirkpatrick’s conduct in May 2022 relating to events that transpired in December 2021.
According to the report, Student A, a high school student in Grade 12, worked part-time at a bistro.
On Dec. 18, 2021, Kirkpatrick was sitting at a counter at the bistro, wearing a shirt with his school’s logo on it. He and Student A had never met before this encounter. The report says that he engaged the student in conversation, complimenting the student’s hair. The student pointed out that they were 17 and were in a hairstyling program.
They then engaged in a conversation about the rivalry between their two schools, speaking for about half an hour in total.
When Student A left work, the student mentioned that they were going to Walmart to do some shopping while waiting for their boyfriend to pick them up.
Sometime later, Kirkpatrick showed up at the Walmart, appearing in the same aisle as the student. He said he was there to pick up some toiletries, but the report notes that he didn’t have a basket, and he didn’t end up buying anything. Another conversation ensued, and the report says that he touched Student A’s shoulder and, at one point, flicked them on the forehead.
The report states that Kirkpatrick noticed the student looking uncomfortable after he made physical contact with them. He then asked the student to look at candles with him on another floor of the store.
While examining the candles, the report states that Kirkpatrick pulled down the student’s face mask, unhooking it from the ear, so that the student could smell one. He also asked the student if they had a boyfriend.
The commissioner’s report says that Student A was very uncomfortable at this point but stayed at the store to wait for their boyfriend to arrive. Kirkpatrick waited with the student. When the student’s partner arrived, they informed Kirkpatrick that they had to leave. Kirkpatrick asked for the student’s number, to which the student replied that they were 17 and had a boyfriend.
On May 22, 2022, Kirkpatrick was suspended for 10 days without pay. He was also asked to attend a boundaries workshop. The B.C. high school teacher completed the course in March 2023.
Following a subsequent investigation, Kirkpatrick agreed to a four-day suspension of his certification from Oct. 7 to 10, with the decision noting that he failed to act as an appropriate role model.