An Ontario mother whose nine-year-old son’s name was on a “kill list” made by a classmate says she has received a lot of backlash from the community after sharing her story.
Now Toronto reported on her story earlier this week.
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The mother says the backlash has “highlighted” the racism in the community she calls home.
“This is a community that I’m attached to,” Nicola Reid-Collins tells Now Toronto.
“I’ve had people make comments like, ‘Well, then maybe Black people shouldn’t move to these White-dominated areas.’”
In her original social media post, Reid-Collins had criticized the school’s response – suspending the student who had written the list for 10 days. At the time, Reid-Collins had alleged the outcomes would have been different had the ethnicity of the perpetrator and their victims been reversed.
According to Reid-Collins, Father F.X. O’Reilly Catholic School confirmed that her son and the other two students who appeared on the “kill list” were not bullying the child who wrote it.
She says Town of New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross and Simcoe–Grey MPP Brian Saunderson have since reached out.
“[Norcross] assured me that he is advocating for my son; he’s advocating for the situation to get more notice, and that he’s putting pressure on the school and the Ministry of Education,” Reid-Collins says.
The MPP’s office confirmed to Now Toronto that the incident has been escalated to Ontario’s Ministry of Education.
Now Toronto reached out to Education Minister Paul Calandra’s office but have not yet heard back by time of publication.
Meanwhile, Reid-Collins says no one from the school or the school board have made an attempt to reach out to her with an update.
“I have not spoken to the principal. I have not spoken to the vice principal. I have not spoken to anybody part of their admin team.”
When asked about the incident, Lonnie Bolton, the superintendent of Student Engagement and Learning at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB) told Now Toronto on Tuesday that school staff were made aware of the situation.
Bolton added that SMCDSB was unable to share details about the incident due to “privacy legislation” but that its typical response to similar circumstances was employed: initiating its Threat Assessment and Intervention Protocol.
Reid-Collins says she’s also received “so much love and support”
“I’ve gotten a lot of messages from parents concerned about their own children and their own situations,” Reid-Collins says.
She says she is happy to be the voice for so many other kids and families who don’t feel seen or heard.
“I’m so happy that they can see that the representation is out there and that someone actually cares about what’s happening to them, and someone wants to make a change within our system.”
However, the words of encouragement online have not done much to help Reid-Collins feel safe in her own neighbourhood.
“I don’t think this is a safe area anymore for me and my kids, and it affects me deeply because I genuinely do love my home,” she says.
Reid-Collins to meet with SMCDSB board next week
Reid-Collins is scheduled to meet with SMCDSB next Tuesday, Mar. 24.
She says she will be joined by members of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children and Parents Against Racism Simcoe County. She hopes the meeting will present her with an opportunity to make her case for why the child who created the “kill list” should be expelled.
“This child has no place in this school environment if he’s going to be affecting other students and causing harm to them mentally,” she says.
Reid-Collins created a petition on Change.org calling on the school and the school board to provide full transparency and clear communication as they ensure the safety of all students.
In the meantime, Reid-Collins is urging parents everywhere to protect their children from experiencing the pain she’s going through.
“I know that we want to shelter our kids from the world and we want to make everything seem, you know, light hearted, but unfortunately, that’s not realistic, and it’s not the world that we live in,” she says.
She says parents have the duty to teach their children about cultural differences and diversity, and also about bullying and accountability.
“We need to let our kids know that their words hold weight. If you say something, there will be a consequence.”
