School equity head pens letter condemning York Region board over handling of racially charged incidents

The superintendent of equity at the York Region District School Board is condemning the way an investigation into a principal’s apparent anti-Muslim Facebook posts was handled, citing a “prevailing notion that equity work is seen as a "distraction" to the board.

In a letter obtained by CTV News Toronto addressed to senior members of the YRDSB, Cecil Roach, the coordinating superintendent of equity and community services, claims his counsel was not pursued in the review of Markham principal Ghada Sadaka.

Sadaka stirred controversy in October when parents complained about a rash of questionable posts on her Facebook page that appear to incite Islamaphobia. Though now removed from her Facebook feed, one of the posts in question showed an image of two pairs of women – one set wearing bikinis, the other burqas. The post read, “If bikinis are banned in Muslim countries, then burqas should be banned in Europe… Share if you agree.”

Though the school board confirmed an investigation into the posts was underway (and a formal apology issued by Sadaka on the YRDSB website), Roach asserts that he has been shuttered from playing a role in the investigation.

“Unfortunately, my counsel has not been sought, my opinion has not been solicited, and I have had no input into decision (sic) regarding what is clearly an equity issue,” Roach said in the letter. “At two Senior Team meetings, I raised concerns about the manner in which this issue was handled and about the detrimental impact on our Board’s corporate image and the feeling of inclusion or lack thereof of our students, parents and staff who are racialized Muslims.”

“In fact, at the October 24th meeting, I stated in no uncertain terms, that as (a) board, we appear complicit with Islamophobia,” the letter reads.

Roach suggests that his equity work within the board has been hindered by a change in responsibilities. He said that in November 2015 he was reassigned to oversee student discipline for each student in the YRDSB, which he describes as a “massive undertaking with lots of work.”

“Clearly, there are equity issues within the student discipline file, but this reassignment has nothing to do with my named role as coordinating superintendent of equity and community services,” he said.

The letter also brings to light other inner-board problems Roach feels that its members have failed to properly address, including the board’s cancellation of a three-day course regarding “equitable and inclusive learning” for school staff -- an effort he spearheaded.

Furthermore, Roach said he has been met with hostility and apprehension when bringing up incidents of racism directed at black students. He said some of these allegations have even come from staff, who described being victims of anti-black racism in a “series of disturbing emails.”

“When I raised this (with the) senior team and advised everyone that we have to name this as racism and not as ‘racial bullying’ as had been done in the past, the director responded with anger and loud accusations of me raising unsubstantiated claims of racism,” Roach’s letter reads.

He said the director’s accusation ‘hurt him to his core’ since the matter “was not a personal issue, it was an issue affecting a core constituency.”

Roach has not responded to a CTV News Toronto request for comment about the letter.

But he is not without some support. J. Philip Parappally, the director of education, said he spoke with Roach on Tuesday and agrees with the core message of his letter.

“I agree with Coordinating Superintendent Roach and support his position that students learn and grow best in learning environments where they feel respected, safe, and included without discrimination regardless of their social identity,” Parappally said in a statement sent to CTV News Toronto. “Measures and procedures have to be and are undertaken to mitigate or remediate the issue of discrimination, including anti-black and Islamophobia, in our learning and working environments.

Parappally went on to acknowledge that Roach has put forth a strong effort in supporting equity and curbing aforementioned incidents, but that more still needs to be done.

The conclusion of the letter indicates Roach was hesitant to even send it, as he “strongly feared reprisal from the director… given the tone he took with me when I raised the anti-black racism issue and my exclusion at key meetings and decisions on issues within my portfolio.”

He said that staff, parents and students along with the YRDSB must “strongly commit to explicit and deliberate work” in order to make schools more “respectful places” to learn and work.

Read the full letter below: