A man from British Columbia has been banned from teaching for 10 years as a result of the relationship he built with his students while working in an independent school.
According to a summary of the resolution for consent published on Tuesday, but on March 29, Joseph James Hizon Arnesto acknowledged the behavior outlined in the summary. He agreed that this was “a professional misconduct and misconduct” and that his certificate as a teacher, which he had held since September 2015, had been revoked.
Arnesto also agreed that he would not apply for another certificate or permission to teach in kindergarten next to the 12th grade system for 10 years.
He received the sentence after it was established that Arnesto “failed to maintain appropriate teacher-student boundaries” and that his inappropriate behavior had occurred “on various occasions, over several years,” the provincial commissioner for teacher regulation wrote. .
The summary of his behavior, as agreed by Arnesto himself, considers what happened during his time as a teacher from 7th to 12th grade in an independent school. The school has not been identified, neither the municipality nor even the district.
The commissioner began his summary with what happened to a minor, identified only as student A, who was in 12th grade at the time of the incidents.
Arnesto admitted in the resolution that he had met with student A over coffee, during which “personal matters” had been discussed. Arnesto agreed that he also communicates with the student through messages sent via text messages and social media.
When student A graduated, the summary said, “Arnesto has made it clear that he wants to pursue a romantic relationship with student A.”
It is not clear whether anything came of this desire.
The summary goes on to describe another relationship, this time with student B, who was in 8th grade when they first began exchanging messages with Arnesto via Facebook, Instagram and text.
Little details are provided about these conversations, except that they include “personal questions” about the student’s “life and family.”
The relationship lasted four years, the documents said, despite a warning from the school principal that Arnesto should keep in mind the relationship with the student and that the only issues he needed to discuss with the students were related to the school.
A week after student B graduated, Arnesto again showed interest in a romantic relationship, the summary said.
Third and fourth cases have also been outlined by the Commissioner.
Arnesto had a private conversation with another 8th grader while keeping in touch with student B, the commissioner said. During this time, which was about two months before student B graduated, the principal issued a written warning to Arnesto. According to the consent resolution, the written warning was followed by “numerous previous talks to maintain clear professional boundaries”.
The timeline is unclear, but the commissioner said he also had a relationship with student C, who was in 10th grade.
The documents say that Arnesto exchanged messages with this student about school work, but they also talked about the student’s personal and romantic life.
Arnesto’s contract was not renewed for the 2020-21 school year, and at the end of March this year Arnesto acknowledged the behavior outlined by the Commissioner, including students A, B, C and D, agreeing that the behavior was contrary to Education standards, competence and professional conduct of teachers in British Columbia.
An agreement to resolve consent such as this gives the teacher and the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation the opportunity to resolve the situation by avoiding citation and hearing.
This is a voluntary process that leads to a written agreement on what is decided and what happens next. The result is then made public.
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