B.C. teacher nets 2-month suspension after allegedly drunk-texting student

A teacher in School District 78 Fraser-Cascade has had her certificate of qualification suspended for two months after allegedly asking a student to be friends with her, even after they said they didn’t want to.

Documents from the B.C. Teacher’s Regulation Branch show Chelsea Cromarty began to communicate with one of her Grade 12 students via Instagram and Facebook in May of 2018. The messages they exchanged were not school-related, and included information about their personal lives.

One day at school, Cromarty allegedly invited the student into a separate room during class time, and they talked for more than an hour about their personal lives, including Cromarty’s marriage.

One another occasion, Cromarty allegedly invited the student to “hang” with her — an invitation the student initially accepted, and then changed their mind about.

But later that day, Cromarty drove to the student’s house to pick them up and go for a drive.

1:50 B.C. teachers urge boycott of foundation skills assessment tests

Eventually, the student felt uncomfortable with the attention Cromarty was giving them, and stopped responding to her messages.

In late June, Cromarty called the student on the phone to talk about being friends.

“Cromarty felt sad and upset that the Student did not want to be friends with her,” reads the consent resolution agreement.

A few days later, the student received a three-page letter from Cromarty about wanting to be friends, and about how Cromarty was going through a challenging time in her life.

In August, Cromarty allegedly messaged the student again to say she still wanted to be friends, that she was “incredibly drunk” and “sad about the way things ended.”

“She also sent a photo of herself with her tongue sticking out, and with the following drawn onto her photo: mouse ears, whiskers and a heart on the end of her nose,” reads the consent resolution agreement.

TRB documents say Cromarty continued to look at the student’s Facebook page.

The B.C. Teacher’s Commissioner decided a two-month suspension was appropriate because Cromarty’s conduct continued over a significant period of time, and she tried to continue the relationship even when the student said they didn’t want to.

She served her suspension between Sept. 3 and Nov. 1, 2019.

Cromarty also has to complete a course on professional boundaries at the Justice Institute of B.C.

The website for Hope Secondary School lists Cromarty as a social studies and communications teacher.