WATCH: Two days after the tragic death of a classmate, distraught students are being told they have to write final exams with no guarantee of exemption. Doug Vaessen reports.
CALGARY – Two days after the tragic death of a 17-year-old Chestermere High School student, one parent is speaking out about the well-being of grieving students.
Chestermere students were vbeing told to write final exams on Friday, despite their emotional distress over the death of their classmate, Jaydon Sommerfeld.
Tim Preston, whose daughter was a friend of Sommerfeld, says it’s too much to ask.
“It’s a very emotional time for her and her friends,” said Preston. “If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t have someone from Rocky View basically dealing with each student as they erupt into tears as they are walking the halls of the school.”
Sommerfeld was involved in a crash Tuesday just metres from the high school, at the intersection of the TransCanada and Highway 791. He died the next day of his injuries.
READ MORE: Chestermere mourns death of 17-year-old in highway crash
Preston and other parents think it’s too soon to ask emotionally-distraught teens to write an exam that could determine their future.
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“As parents we are here to support our kids,” said Preston. “The issue here is so much stress on these diploma exams—being worth 50 per cent of the mark. How do you prepare for that knowing everything that has just happened?”
The school sent a letter home on Thursday saying it had contacted Alberta Education, and the decision was made for students to write their exams.
“We are working through the exemption processes. However, this process takes time,” reads the letter. “It is in the student’s best interests to write their exams. We are able to apply for exemptions after a student has written an exam, however we are not able to predict who will be approved for exemptions or not.”
Preston pointed out blanket exemptions were given to all students after the 2013 floods, and wonders why the same procedure can’t be applied in this case to those who need it.
“We are asking for a no-risk examination policy, which means you can write the exam but it will not be a detriment to your final mark, given the situation.”
Education Minister David Eggen said Alberta Education is working closely with the school to ensure exemptions from exams are granted to students in need. In an email, Eggen said the school principal will make the decisions on a case-by-case basis.
With files from Erika Tucker
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