A fifth staff member from a private Saskatoon Christian school has been charged with assaulting a student.
Unlike the other allegations, this one emerged this year. CBC News also learned that Valour Academy — then called Legacy Christian Academy earlier this year — gave the accused a “courage” award in the weeks after the alleged assault, and that he worked as a teacher but was not certified.
“I don't think the school is appropriate. I want it closed,” said Laurissa Gerritse, the mother of the now eight-year-old victim. She was seven at the time of the attack.
Gerritse said she can’t believe the provincial government allowed Valour Academy to remain open and gave it more than $700,000 in annual taxpayer subsidies amid mounting criminal charges, class-action lawsuits, its controversial curriculum and other revelations. CBC News has interviewed more than two dozen parents and former students who say there was widespread systemic abuse at the school that ranged from sexual and physical abuse to solitary confinement and exorcisms.
Valour Academy, which shares a building with Mile Two Church on Pinehouse Drive, Saskatoon, was known as Legacy Christian Academy until its name change this year. It was previously known as Christian Centre Academy.
Saskatoon police say a 44-year-old woman was charged this week with assault with a weapon stemming from an incident with a student in May 2024. CBC News has learned the woman taught physical education and other subjects, and was listed online as a “teacher” at the school. However, her name does not appear on the official Saskatchewan Professional Teacher Regulatory Body, and in an email this week to CBC News, the provincial government referred to her as an “educational assistant.”
“I am deeply troubled by the experience that Legacy Christian Academy has had. I think the name of the school has been changed to Valour, but students and staff should have a safe learning and working environment,” said Saskatchewan Teachers Federation president Samantha Becotte.
“With all the issues and concerns that have arisen from independent bodies, [private] schools, we as a Federation strongly believe that no independent school should receive government funding. We believe that all public funds should be used for our public services.”
An Education Department official said in an email that the school was still on probation, but did not say whether any further action would be taken. He noted that no one charged with a crime or named in the lawsuit is authorized to be associated with the school.
“Therefore, the educational assistant is no longer employed by the school,” the email stated.
The school was formerly known as Christian Centre Academy, and several years ago became Legacy Christian Academy. It will now be known as Valour Academy. Former students who say they were victimized are angry, and say it is an attempt to avoid accountability.
'I was shocked': mother
Gerritse agreed to meet with CBC News at her home this week after speaking with her son, husband and former students. Gerritse said they agreed it was important to speak out so other students know they are not alone, and to show the government that things have not changed.
“I just don't want anyone else to get hurt,” he said.
Gerritse said she remembers a “terrible” day in May when she picked up her son at the end of the school day.
“She got in the car, closed the door, and then she just started sobbing,” he said.
“And I was like, 'Hey, what, what happened. Are you okay?' And he said, 'My head hurts so bad and I can't stop hurting.'”
He asked the boy if he had hit his head on the playground structure. The boy said no, it was his teacher who hit him “twice with the yellow stick in PE” because he didn't listen.
“I was shocked,” Gerritse said. “And I was like, 'Are you sure? That's a very serious accusation to say about your teacher.'”
The boy said yes, he was sure, and pointed to a spot on his head. When Gerritse touched the spot, the boy screamed and he could already feel “a very large goose egg.”
“I was so angry. The look in his eyes — I recognized that look. I knew he wasn't making it up. He was really scared,” she said.
He took it home and put ice on it. He spoke to a nurse who listed warning signs of a concussion or other injury.
“She said, 'I'm not going back there, Mom.' And I said, 'I'm never going to set foot in that school again.' And I kept that promise.”
Gerritse said she called the school and officials downplayed the incident, saying it was just a wiretap to get the boy's attention. She demanded the teacher be fired. She said officials told her to bring the boy to school and the teacher would apologize verbally. Gerritse said that would re-traumatize her son and the apology would likely not be sincere. She refused and went to the police.
In the weeks after the alleged assault, and after school officials learned of Gerritse's concerns, the teacher was given a special “courage” award, according to two people connected to the school, including a former student who attended the meeting where the award was presented.
“My jaw dropped when they did that,” the student said.
During this week’s interview, Gerritse sat with her two dogs. One is a therapy animal trained to detect changes in stress and heart rate. Gerritse said she developed heart problems after being abused as a student at the school, when it was called Christian Center Academy. She said a teacher sexually abused her starting when she was 7, and that she and others were repeatedly beaten with a large wooden paddle.
She recounted one memory of being punched more than a dozen times and unable to sit for days because of bruises that ran from her lower back to the back of her knees. She said she avoided the trauma, but realized she needed to be a role model for her son after her alleged assault. She filed a criminal complaint and joined a class-action lawsuit with other former students this summer.
She admitted to feeling guilty about sending her children to the school, but she thought things had changed because the school had a new name and a new principal.
“Yes, I grew up in the Christian Centre. However, I truly believed it was something different, just in the same building. I didn't realise it was connected at all,” he said.
Gerritse hopes the accused will face consequences, but said the incident is symptomatic of a broader problem. Gerritse and other students say the provincial government was wrong to allow the school to change its name, continue to fund it with public money and allow it to operate. They ask what the government should do to take action.
“The name change is just the latest in a long line of attempts by the school to cover up and ignore what was done and pretend like nothing happened,” former student Quentin Pelletier said in a recent interview.
The 44-year-old defendant is scheduled to appear in Saskatoon provincial court on Sept. 25. He could not be reached and it was unclear if he had retained legal counsel.
The class action lawsuit is scheduled to hear testimony over two days in January. According to the latest information available, no defendants have filed a full statement of defense. One defendant has filed an affidavit denying any knowledge or involvement.
Three other former school officials have been charged with assault with a weapon. They have all pleaded not guilty and the cases are ongoing. Another former teacher pleaded guilty last year to sexual assault and exploitation of a student.
No one from Valour Academy returned messages left by CBC over the past week via phone and email.