Another parent questions practices at Christ the King following durag controversy

EDMONTON – Just weeks after a mother was banned from her son’s school for challenging a teacher’s actions, another parent has come out to say there’s a complete lack of accountability with Christ the King staff.

Two weeks ago, Una Momolu says her 11-year-old son Emmell wore a durag to school and a teacher asked him to take it off due to “gang affiliations”.

WATCH: ‘There are children that age that are part of gangs’: School tells student to remove durag over ‘gang affiliations’

When Momolu went into the principal’s office to clear up the situation, things escalated. The head of the school hit the “panic button”, saying Momolu had become irate and aggressive. A recording of the conversation that Momolu provided to CityNews told a different story, which was immediately disputed by the school.

After rallies in support of the mother and her son, the school doubled down and stood by it’s handling of the situation.

On Oct. 17, in a statement to CityNews Edmonton Catholic Schools apologized for the use of the word “gang” in relation to Emmell, saying “it was never our intent to suggest that the boy had any affiliation with a gang.”

However, the group continued to say Momolu acted aggressively towards staff and that staff feared for their safety. It also said the mother was still “banned from school property for the remainder of the school year” but that the student was never part of the ban and regular attendance has been expected.

READ MORE: Many rally in support of Edmonton family following durag controversy

Now, another parent whose children attend the catholic school says Momolu isn’t the only one who isn’t happy with the school faculty.

He does not want to be identified but has two kids who attend Christ the King and he says he has experienced a similar situation to Momolu.

“The challenges and concerns experienced by parents and students regarding the school system is primarily its lack of transparency and accountability – especially when the resolution to a tense situation leads to an unsatisfactory outcome for the parents,” reads a statement from the parent.

“Its aftermath leaves all parties in a worse relationship; this is my experience with the staff at Christ the King, a school my children attend.”

He says parents understand teachers have a lot on their plate and to “expect perfection” is unrealistic–but staff still needs to do better.

“The staff need to understand that, as a parent, we entrust them with our most valuable possession. Their assigning blame to everyone else but themselves does not assuage our worries of their perceived lack of abilities and competence in tending and educating our children.”

He says staff treats concerned parents like customers complaining at the customer service desk, without tact or compassion, adding exchanges between parents and teachers feel like “a prescribed procedure void of any human element”.

“We find this troubling because when parents go to them, they are seeking help and guidance, but in most cases, from what we see or hear, or experiencing first hand, parents are left feeling put down and potentially more helpless than before. From my experience, when conflicts do happen, tactics such as gaslighting and bullying seems to be encouraged – at least from behind closed doors.,” the statement continues.

“Now, we are not 100 per cent certain what happens behind closed doors between students and administrative staff; but if the parents are being treated that way, how can one assume that children are not getting the same treatment?”