Chilliwack School District. (Image Credit: Mike Vanden Bosch)
Teacher discipline

Chilliwack on-call teacher reprimanded for inappropriate behaviour in Grade 5 classroom

Apr 8, 2026 | 5:39 AM

CHILLIWACK – An on-call teacher in the Chilliwack School District has been reprimanded for inappropriate classroom behaviour on several occasions, including one incident where he patted his lap and advised a female student who wasn’t listening to come see him.

According to a consent agreement published by the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, Peter William Gentile was working as a teacher teaching on call (TTOC) with SD33 during the 2024-25 school year when multiple incidents occurred.

During one concerning incident, a Grade 5 female student was not listening in the classroom. The consent agreement states Gentile inappropriately patted his lap and told the student to “please, come and see me.”

On another occasion, Gentile inappropriately told one twin student that their twin was the better looking one.

In an incident involving a video assignment, Gentile advised a student whose parents would not let them be on camera for a YouTube project that he didn’t want them to “break the camera.”

When students in his class weren’t listening, Gentile asked them if they wanted to “go to the chokey,” a reference to the movie “Matilda” where a principal placed misbehaving kids in a closet with spikes as a method of discipline.

On another occasion when Gentile saw two students having a disagreement, he commented that the students were “bickering like a couple.”

During the 2024-25 school year, Gentile also told a female student that she could use some exercise.

On February 12, 2025, Gentile was suspended by the Chilliwack School District for three days without pay and required to complete a course through the Justice Institute of BC entitled “Creating a Positive Learning Environment.”

Prior to his three-day suspension, SD33 had previously raised concerns about Gentile’s teaching deportment. On December 13, 2024, Gentile was issued a letter of discipline for inappropriate and unprofessional communication with secondary students. His conduct involving secondary students was not detailed in the consent agreement issued by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

In the consent agreement, Gentile did not contest the validity or the nature of the incidents that occurred in his classroom while he was teaching. He signed the consent agreement in Chilliwack on March 12, 2026.

If Gentile doesn’t finish the course successfully by a conditional date, he needs to notify the commissioner. Further, if he doesn’t provide proof of course completion, the commissioner may require the director of certification to suspend certificate of qualification as part of the Teachers Act, as if to imply Gentile is still allowed to teach in B.C.’s public schools.