B.C. high school teacher suspended for repeatedly messaging recent grads

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A B.C. teacher at a private high school has been suspended for two weeks after admitting to sending inappropriate social media messages to some of his recently graduated students.

In 2022, Darren Richard Brown sent the student a “wave” emoji and wished the student a happy birthday when the student turned 18 years old. Over the next year, Brown sent more messages, sometimes late at night, in which he complimented the student and wrote that the student was his “favourite,” a “kind soul,” and warmed his heart.

He offered to take the student out for coffee or an “adult beverage,” and later met once for coffee.

The student “began to feel uncomfortable and stopped responding to Brown’s messages,” according to a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation that was posted online on Tuesday.

Brown continued to send messages after the student stopped replying, and “also used social media to send messages to other recently graduated students, asking how they were and saying that he missed them.”

One of the students messaged Brown advising him “the way it looked, to send messages to former students late at night.”

Brown then messaged another student who had graduated, asked what they were doing, complimented the student, and “sent a message which contained a sexual innuendo.” He claimed he meant to send that message to someone else.

In June 2022, Brown resigned from the school — its name was withheld from the signed agreement — and the commissioner ordered an investigation late that year.

Brown agreed his behaviour with the former students amounts to professional misconduct and accepted a two-week suspension of his teaching licence. He must also take a course on respectful professional boundaries at the Justice Institute of B.C.

The commissioner said the penalty was appropriate because Brown “demonstrated a pattern of boundary violations and showed a lack of understanding of appropriate professional boundaries,” and because his conduct “undermines public confidence in the education system.”

Also Tuesday, an Abbotsford high school teacher was reprimanded for swatting a student on the back with two paper file folders because the student was talking during class presentations after she had asked them to be quiet.

Elizabeth Alaine Cousar admitted the physical contact — which could be heard by others in the class but did not injure the student — amounted to professional misconduct. She also agreed to take a course on creating positive learning environments.

jruttle@postmedia.com