B.C. Teacher Banned for 10 Years After Inappropriate Relationship With Former Student
Shraddha Tripathy
6/25/20261 min read
A teacher at a B.C. independent school has been banned from applying for a teaching certificate for 10 years after having an inappropriate relationship with a former student.
The details are contained in a consent agreement posted by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation involving Robert Ian Collett.
Collett admitted to professional misconduct for failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with a student he had taught in Grades 11 and 12.
The agreement does not identify the school where Collett worked or name the former student.
Emails Became Romantic and Sexual
According to the consent agreement, Collett began emailing the student about school-related matters at the start of the student’s Grade 12 year.
Those emails later included romantic and intimate language, the regulator said.
After the student graduated, the emails began to include sexual content.
Within a month of the student’s graduation, Collett and the former student met at a restaurant and discussed personal matters. The agreement says he later hugged and kissed the former student at a park.
Former Student Asked Him to Stop Contact
After the meeting at the park, the former student emailed Collett and asked him not to contact them again.
A few days later, Collett sent the former student a “good-bye” poem, according to the agreement.
The regulator said Collett’s conduct had the potential to compromise the former student’s emotional safety and well-being.
Teacher Fired With Cause
The principal of the school where Collett taught reported the matter to the teaching regulator on August 15, 2023.
Collett was fired with cause in December 2023.
In May 2024, he signed an undertaking agreeing not to teach in any position requiring certification.
Under the consent agreement, Collett will not be allowed to apply for a teaching certificate for 10 years.
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