B.C. Teacher Loses Certification After Inappropriate Student Contact

A teacher in British Columbia has had his teaching certificate revoked and agreed to an eight-year ban on reapplying after engaging in inappropriate conduct with a student. Adam Richard Macdonald, who entered a consent agreement with the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, faced disciplinary action for a series of actions that occurred between 2016 and 2017. The details of the case were published in a summary on the commissioner’s website.

Macdonald’s misconduct began during a two-day field trip in January 2016, where he met a student known as Student A. Although Student A was not enrolled at Macdonald’s school, he was part of the same school district. The district’s name has been omitted from the summary to protect the identity of the student, who was harmed by the teacher’s actions. By June 2016, the two connected on the dating app Grindr. At that time, Student A was 17 years old but had claimed to be 18 to access the app. Macdonald was unaware that Student A was affiliated with his school district.

Following a hiatus in communication, the two reconnected during the 2016-2017 academic year, when Student A was in Grade 12. They realized their previous encounter on the field trip and transitioned their conversations to Instagram, with Macdonald providing his phone number.

In the summer of 2017, after Student A turned 18 and graduated from high school, the two met at Macdonald’s home and engaged in sexual contact. The summary indicates that over the following year, they continued to have physical interactions, including kissing and cuddling, and at least one instance of oral sex. The summary also notes that Macdonald suggested to Student A that their relationship was permissible since they were from different schools within the district.

In June 2016, the school district had issued Macdonald a “letter of direction,” which instructed him to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with students and to avoid discussing personal sexual experiences. This directive was meant to reinforce the importance of ethical conduct in the teacher-student relationship.

The district reported Macdonald’s actions to the commissioner on February 5, 2024, but the summary does not clarify the reasons behind the delay between the onset of Macdonald’s relationship with Student A and the subsequent disciplinary proceedings. Upon the filing of the report, Macdonald resigned from the district the same day. He signed an agreement on February 15, 2024, committing not to teach in any capacity governed by British Columbia’s Teachers Act.

Under the terms of the consent agreement, Macdonald’s teaching certificate has been cancelled, and he is prohibited from reapplying for certification for a period of eight years. The summary concludes with a strong statement regarding the nature of Macdonald’s actions, highlighting them as a serious breach of the trust and authority inherent in his role as a teacher.