Duchess Park Secondary

By Cheryl Jahn

School District 57

School District 57 readies supports

Feb 11, 2026 | 2:19 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The flags are at half mast at Duchess Park Secondary School today (Feb.11), though classes have resumed as normal, the circumstances are anything but and the district has measures in place.

“We have a crisis response team,” explains Jameel Aziz, Superintendent of School District 57. “Typically they would respond to a school or a family of schools, but because this is really a national tragedy, our resources are spread fairly thin. So we really have been working with our principals and vice principals as the conduits of support.”

The same holds true for the Prince George District Teachers Association.

“There are supports available for anybody who’s struggling, whether that’s teachers, students, families,” says Katherine Trepanier, President of the Prince George and District Teachers’ Association. “This is a really challenging time for everybody. Schools are supposed to be safe and supportive communities and teachers and our members work really hard to make sure that people feel safe and supported in school. So when something like this happens, it really shakes people. But there are supports available.”

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And while the PGDTA is providing help for those teachers who may need it locally, it has reached out to its peer association in Tumbler Ridge as well.

“We have reached out. Communities all around BC and Canada and the world actually have been reaching out to our association in Tumbler Ridge and offering support in whatever way they need.”

Though the board room at the School District 57 offices are empty today, but it is where anyone with education in the district was gathered Tuesday night. It was in the midst a board meeting when the news came.

“We decided to take a recess to decide what to do,” explains Craig Brennan, Chair of the Board of Education. “So we paused the meeting, and as we started to sort of process the information, we decided it was not appropriate to continue the meeting. So we actually finished one timed item, and then everything else was postponed out of respect for what had happened.”

And it’s something no one can prepare for.

“We have protocols in place and we work with our partners to make sure that those are properly followed and that we’re well-versed and well-trained and responding. But, you know, I can say to parents, we’ll do the work to make sure our schools are safe in light of this tragedy. We need to also think about responding to our students and our staff and the parents.”

The School District has had response protocols in place and those have been stepped up.

“We refamiliarize our staff,” says Aziz. “So almost all of our principals and vice principals have had threat assessment training. They have gone through all of the training and protocols to make sure that they are aware. So we bring those resources back and put them back in front of folks again. We try to make sure that we’re monitoring as much as is possible any concerns that may exist or any student behavior or responses that really flags some of those kind of signals.”

Mental health supports are available to those who need them:

BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789

Kids Help Phone: Text ‘CONNECT’ to 686868