A group of parents has been working for weeks to have the principal of Holland Chatsworth Central School removed, saying the leadership has negatively impacted children's well-being, the school climate, and parent-administration trust.
Tracy Dinsmore has been principal of the school since the fall of 2021. She was contacted for comment on this story, and while she said via email she appreciated CKNXNewsToday.ca reaching out, she did not return a response in time for publication. (Any comments received after will be added.)
Les Medve launched a petition on May 24, shortly after administrative placements for the 2025-26 school year were announced and he noticed the school's principal remained in place. The petition has garnered nearly 200 signatures.
The school has approximately 300 elementary students.
Medve said he was disappointed to see she would be back, saying that his experiences meeting with Dinsmore over the years have been deeply frustrating.
His child had been having difficulties with regulating his emotions, and assessments would later diagnose him with ADHD. Medve said there was no compassion shown by the principal during his struggles, alleging she referred to an emotional outburst as "he was wailing again."
Medve was particularly upset with how she responded to cases of bullying.
"He was bullied relentlessly for like three months. When I met with her, she slides a book across that says 'Dealing with Autism.' I'm like, what are you talking about? It was later confirmed he was on the autism spectrum and it's like, if she knew or suspected, she allowed these children to trigger him and she was so crass about it that she let it go for three months, until another teacher stepped in. It wasn't even her driving force, and that was just our issue," he said.
Other issues quickly came forward as part of the petition that Medve says blew up after he posted it, with parents and former students sharing stories of unresolved bullying, failures in accountability, and an overall uncomfortable environment.
CKNXNewsToday.ca spoke to several families about their experiences at the school under Dinsmore's leadership, some who have been granted anonymity.
Kara Chatzis opted to pull her young daughter out of the school due to concerns that her Type I diabetes wasn't being managed well by Dinsmore.
"As an admin, she was pretty reckless in decisions when it came to (my child) specifically," said Chatzis. "I made the hard decision to pull them, it was not something we wanted to do but felt we had no choice."
She said that EAs in her daughters class were regularly swapped out, and some had not received training on how to help manage the child's blood sugar levels. Chatzis said requests to have the entire staff trained went unanswered. She also suggested Dinsmore had unrealistic expectations of her then four-year-old's ability to manage the condition.
In one instance, Chatzis said readings were showing that her daughter's blood sugar was going down, however she instructed staff to wait to give her a snack as sometimes it can level off and be fine. Chatzis said Dinsmore instructed the EA to give her a snack, which then resulted in high blood sugar levels and her daughter needing to be picked up.
The last straw was when her daughter was put on an insulin pump. Chatzis reached out to the school to give them a heads up that new training would be required on the pump, and she says Dinsmore suggested the training would be completed after the child's first day back.
"She lacked complete communication, accountability, all of these things. She was very difficult to work with, so I didn’t feel safe sending her back," she said. "It's diabetes, anything can happen in a split second."
Another parent of a child with autism, said her son regularly feels targeted by Dinsmore.
"I feel like any of those kids that aren't just perfect, cookie-cutter kids – like my daughter, she never ever speaks to my daughter – any of the kids that fit outside that mold, she's either holed up in her office or she's tracking them around the school and harassing them," she said.
While her son qualifies for full-time support due to mental health issues, the parent says he's not receiving any, with no reason provided.
She also said procedures she believes are well-known by Dinsmore are ignored, like an ex being allowed on an overnight field trip with her child without her knowledge, which she said violated a custody agreement.
The parent also alleged Dinsmore made changes to he child's Ontario Student Record without her knowledge.
"A few weeks ago, she told me – and she’s not allowed to say this – she told me she wanted me to put my son in Keystone respite living for the rest of the year and then transfer him to the Catholic school for the next year, because he’s the ‘most complex student she’s ever worked with,'" said the parent.
All of the parents whose children were enrolled under previous principal Burke Mason said there's been a noticeable difference since his departure.
"The morale in our school is at an all-time low," said Sandy B, a concerned parent from HCCS. "It’s horrible. The teachers are struggling, the office administrators are struggling, the kids are struggling."
An overarching theme in the complaints against Dinsmore is a lack of communication and a lack of empathy. The families also said the don't feel heard by the Bluewater District School Board.
Sandy said there were instances in the past when it seemed the board received feedback.
She was upset to learn from her child that the school was used as a polling place in the provincial election, saying that parents weren't notified this was taking place. Sandy had safety concerns about an event like that being held at the school, noting parents usually have to be buzzed in by the main office to pick up her child.
"It would have been different if there was direct access to the gym and everything else was closed off, but they had to walk in the main foyer... That's the policy that board has in place to keep my child safe and that day there was nothing. Everything was open," she said.
When she raised the concern to the principal, Sandy said she was told by Dinsmore that it would have been on her voter's card. (Her polling place was at the local legion.) So the conversation was taken higher up.
"I had a conversation with (Lauren Penner Lipsett), I felt heard at that time. She had gone back to her colleagues to share my concerns, and the federal election was not held in the school.," she said. "This time around with (Lipsett), they just don't want to hear what we have to say. Parents are scared to come forward, in fear that (Mrs. Dinsmore) will take it out on their kids."
CKNX reached out to the school board regarding these concerns, and this was the response provided by BWDSB.
"We are aware that some concerns are being shared through an online petition by certain members of the school community and public. While we are not able to speak to personnel matters, we recognize the right of parents/guardians to voice concerns and advocate on issues related to the education and well-being of their children.
Bluewater District School Board has an established procedure that is to be followed when it comes to the escalation of parent/guardian concerns. This process ensures issues can be discussed confidentially and safely, while respecting the dignity and voices of all parties involved: AP 1604-D 'Communications – Addressing Parent / Community Concerns.'
As always, we will continue to work towards the goal of achieving viable solutions for those with specific concerns about their children in accordance with our procedure."
Several parents noted they have followed board procedures in sharing their concerns, only to have those brushed aside.
"It’s shocking that we don’t have a say in our principal and a say in how our school is run in a community with not a lot of people," said Medve.
He says his most recent attempts to engage higher ups have been met with a rush of defenses of Dinsmore.
"Tracy Dinsmore is an excellent principal," read an email response he received from trustee Marilyn McComb. "Exactly, what are your concerns with her leadership?"
CKNXNewsToday.ca followed up with the board regarding these parents concerns over the lack of communication. A spokesperson said the statement doesn't mean that "the concerns are being brushed aside," but ultimately none of the board's leadership opted to speak to media "due to the personnel component."
Administrative placement updates can still be made, but as it currently stands, some parents see the situation as untenable.
"(My child) will not be returning if she comes back," said one parent.
"Why is that an option? As a community, we come together and say 'She doesn't fit with us, her leadership is subpar. Help us' and (the board) is like, 'If you don't like it, move your student.' That shouldn't be the option. The school's supposed to be there for us," said Medve.