A teacher in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District has been disciplined after grabbing a student's arm during recess. 

Teacher Adam Guy Stanley will have to complete a course called Creating a Positive Learning Environment through the Justice Institute of B.C. as part of his discipline for the incident, which took place at an elementary school in the district last year.

According to the consent resolution agreement made public by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, Stanley, a teacher for 25 years, was supervising students over recess on June 6, 2023. A group of Grade 7 students playing football were gathered after a play when one student in shoes stepped on the foot of another who was not wearing shoes. The student who was stepped on, "expressed a strong reaction through his body language and by loudly shouting and using a swear word."

Stanley could see the incident from a distance and was concerned it would escalate, so he went over to intervene and told the student who swore in a loud voice that, "the language was in appropriate and to go to the office."

Instead of walking towards the school building, though, the student headed back towards the cluster of students. That's when Stanley grabbed the lower arm of the student which abruptly stopped him from walking. 

In the agreement, Stanley said he thought the student was heading towards the other students again, so, using a loud voice, ordered him to go to the office, and then asked what the student was doing. 

The student told Stanley he was going to get his shoes. This was when Stanley realized the student was not wearing any. 

Stanley let go of the student's arm, the student retrieved their shoes and went into the school building, "visibly upset by Stanley's actions."

The interaction only lasted a few seconds. 

SD42 issued Stanley a letter of discipline on Oct. 20, 2023 and made a report to the commissioner on Nov 1. 

The course of action decided by the commissioner was due to Stanley's use of physical contact to restrain the movement of the student when it wasn't necessary. 

Stanley has agreed not to dispute the terms in the agreement. If he does not finish the course by either the current set date or an extended date, Stanley may have his certificate of qualification suspended until he does complete it.