A panel comprised of executive members of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation has decided that a former teacher at Midale Central School will have her teaching certificate cancelled.
The ruling came on Feb. 6 at a penalty hearing in Regina. That hearing followed a Saskatoon-based disciplinary inquiry in which a panel of Justine Kwochka's educational peers plus one government appointed member-at-large, recommended that the teacher's provincial certification be revoked.
Kwochka has 30 days from the date of her learning the panel's decision in which to appeal. If there is no appeal, then the former elementary grade educator will be stripped of her teaching certification in Saskatchewan.
The decision taken by the STF executive comes on the heels of information revealed during the disciplinary hearing for Kwochka in Saskatoon in mid-December of last year. During that session, testimony indicated that Kwochka had engaged in a sexual liaison with a senior (Gr. 12) student in the same school where she was teaching Grade 1 and 2 students. According to the information gathered at the Saskatoon session, the student admitted that he had been engaged in the affair with Kwockha and further information indicated that it did not end, even after warnings from senior administrators. The liaison was said to have been active as far back as 2011 and into 2012.
Kwochka originally denied the relationship when confronted by principal Lloyd Morrison, but then admitted to it when she was faced with information that had been provided to him by other staff members.
The teacher was originally suspended for three days by the South East Cornerstone Public School Division, but when it was learned that the affair continued, Kwochka was not allowed to return to her classroom and her contract with the school division was terminated through a mutual agreement, said Cornerstone's human resources superintendent Gord Husband.
Morrison also told the disciplinary panel, during the Saskatoon hearing that was first reported by The Mercury, that the student admitted to him that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with Kwochka.
Kwochka did not attend the disciplinary hearing and was not obligated to attend the penalty session in Regina either.
Both hearings were conducted by the STF who not only serve as advocate for provincial educators but also as their disciplinary body.
If Kwochka does not appeal the cancellation of her teaching certification, the STF penalty decision will take effect on or about March 8. If she does appeal, a court of appeal will be convened to determine whether the STF penalty should be overturned and further legal action needs to follow, or that the suspension was warranted and the penalty enforced .
