A teacher in B.C. was suspended for three weeks after an investigation into emails he was exchanging with a student.
Steven Reeder was working as a high school English teacher at an independent school in B.C.
On April 20, 2025, the principal made a report to the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation about Reeder.
The Commissioner’s report states that while Reeder was teaching at the school, he was communicating inappropriately on his personal email account with Student A.
Student A was a student at the school and was in several of Reeder’s classes between 2022 and 2024.
In June 2024, Student A was in one of Reeder’s Grade 11 English classes.
On June 25, 2024, Reeder and the student exchanged around 27 emails. Reeder had initiated the email exchanges and sent the first email at around 7:13 a.m. The last message he sent was at around 11:46 p.m.
The Commissioner’s report reveals some of the emails Reeder sent. Note that the typos are from the actual quotes.
In one email, Reeder wrote, “I was so excited to see you smiling after your exams. Makes me feel good. Congrats on doing well. I will keep thinking of you and sending you the good vibes tonight while you recite and through tomorrow during exams as well!”
That email was signed off with a kissy-face emoji: š.
In another email, Reeder told Student A, “If you need anyone to lean on–to talk to, lay your worries or complaints on, get support, or need cheering up, or share anything that you may not feel able to share with another adult–just ask, any day, any time.”
He also emailed about a picture in which Student A is leaning on him, and said, “You can lean on me any time (physically and mentally).”
On June 26, they exchanged around 23 emails. Reeder again initiated the exchange at around 7 a.m., and the last email Reeder sent was around 11:57 p.m.
“Don’t be a stranger over the summer and send me a note from time to time. I’ll try
hard not to bug you all summer ha ha š,” he wrote in one email.
He also told Student A in one exchange that he wanted to drive them home.
“It tugged at me heart string to see standing there,” the English teacher wrote.
On the same date, he referred to her as CariƱo, a Spanish term of endearment which means sweetheart, dear, or love. He also made some disparaging remarks about his own wife, saying that she “just wants to set me suffer.”
On June 26, 2024, Reeder offered to drive the student home, but Student A declined. The invite made the student feel uncomfortable, according to the Commissioner’s report.
Almost a year later, on April 26, 2025, Reeder sent Student A an email that included the comment, “I miss the students. And of course, I miss you.”
He added that the student was “one of those people (not students) I’ll never forget.”
Student A was uncomfortable with the April 26 email, so much so that the student changed their email address. They did not receive any more emails after that.
Reeder’s employment with the school concluded in April 2025. On April 7, 2026, his employment at another school was terminated.
Reeder was ordered to take some courses on professional boundaries and agreed to a three-week suspension of his certificate from April 13, 2026, to May 1, 2026.
You can read the full report on the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation website.