A former vice-principal of an Abbotsford high school has been disciplined for professional misconduct after the provincial regulator found he repeatedly violated professional boundaries with female students. Michael David Hendricks entered into a consent resolution agreement with B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, admitting to the misconduct and agreeing to a three-week suspension. The misconduct included include private messages with students on Instagram and Snapchat, interactions on their personal social media accounts and meetings outside school, according to the agreement. The document, which was posted online Tuesday, outlines more than a dozen examples of misconduct involving eight female students that happened in 2024 and 2025, while Hendricks was one of two vice-principals at the school. The regulator found Hendricks “repeatedly violated professional boundaries with students” and engaged in conduct that had the potential to compromise their emotional safety and well-being. Professional boundary violations According to the agreement, Hendricks often referred to himself as “Grad Dad,” while privately messaging students through Instagram or Snapchat. He also interacted with students’ personal accounts, including posting a fire emoji in response to a photograph of several girls, the regulator found. Beyond his online behavior, the regulator also found that Hendricks committed professional misconduct when he met with students outside of school. According to the agreement, Hendricks attended most of the 2025 games played by the school’s girls volleyball team and sat with the team on the bench during games. The decision notes that while his frequent attendance to games is not considered professional misconduct, it did add to “a perception of undue favoritism towards team members and to their potential discomfort from his other boundary violations.” Hendricks also regularly attended one student’s extra-curricular hockey games, which the decision explains he was invited to do, and usually stayed afterward to give her “a fist bump and tell her she did a good job.” Also on invitation, the regulator learned Hendricks attended a nail business one student was operating out of her residence. In another case, he joined a group of students that delivered balloons to a classmate at her home as a surprise for her birthday. The bulletin also details three instances of Hendrick’s meeting up with students for a meal after they graduated. Text messages included in the decision suggest he regularly arranged meetings with students at a local coffee shop. “I’ve done sip and chats this summer with several 2025s at the (name of coffee shop),” one message reads, followed by others reading “Let’s have some fun!” and “Next week let’s talk grad daughter lunch/dinner [winky emoji].” Consequences Hendricks has agreed to the suspension of his teaching certificate from Oct. 19 to Nov. 8, and to completing a course on professional boundaries.
