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Former SD 73 teacher's licence revoked after sending 'inappropriate messages' to students

The incidents took place in 2016 and 2017
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A teacher who once worked for the Kamloops-Thompson School District has agreed to the cancellation of his teaching certificate following a number of incidents where he sent "inappropriate messages" to young female students.

In a consent resolution agreement reached with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation (BCCTR) on Jan. 24, 2019, Bryan Cederholm's professional certificate, issued in 2014, was cancelled and a ban on reapplying was also put in place.

Cederholm at one time taught at Vavenby Elementary School, according to an article in the Clearwater Times, and graduated from Thompson Rivers University in 2014.

The agreement was reached after reports of four separate incidents involving messages with former students of his. Cederholm had been "advised by the district to refrain from having inappropriate contact with students" back in early 2016, states the consent resolution summary.

The first reported incident was in February 2017, when Cederholm exchanged inappropriate messages with a 12-year-old female student he had previously taught. He was suspended two days without pay for that incident, as well as given a letter of reprimand. The school district made a report to the BCCTR on March 8, 2017.

The second matter took place around the same time as the first and involved two students. Cederholm exchanged inappropriate messages with a 14-year-old female student, who he had taught when she was in elementary school. During the exchange, he sent the student a picture he had taken of some of his current elementary school students.

Cederholm also contacted another 14-year-old student he had previously taught on Instagram. That student eventually blocked him from contacting her.

The school district fired the elementary school teacher in March 2017. Staff notified the BCCTR of Cederholm’s latest actions on April 4, 2017.

The third and fourth matters were reported after his termination but occurred during the 2016/17 school year.

In one, Cederholm sent inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old female student, while also showing her text messages he had exchanged with another person about her. The student also blocked him on social media. The consent resolution summary says the parents of the student contacted the school district to share what happened. On April 28, 2017, the district notified the BCCTR about the incident and the BCCTR launched an investigation into the allegations.

Cederholm also sent inappropriate messages to a 13-year-old student (another student he had previously taught) on various social media platforms from October 2016 to January 2017.

In the consent resolution agreement reached on Jan. 24, 2019, Cederholm agreed his behaviour constitutes professional misconduct.

The BCCTR found Cederholm used “multiple contact points” with students, including some outside the classroom, to “blur boundaries.” He engaged in this conduct multiple times, even after being told in 2016 that he should not have this kind of contact with students.  

In an emailed statement to KamloopsMatters, the school district says it's aware of the consent resolution summary issued by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

"The consent order provides significant detail about the matter, the processes undertaken and the outcome," writes communications manager Diana Skoglund. "Freedom of information and privacy legislation prevents districts from discussing personnel matters."