Ottawa police were called to investigate the incident the next day but no charges were laid after the boy agreed to enroll in a 30-day anger management program.

The mother of the girl threatened with the knife said the school should have zero tolerance for children who bring weapons to class.

“As a parent it’s pretty upsetting that it was treated so lightly,” she said. “This should be at the top of the offence chain. It’s the worst thing a student can do, short of killing someone.

“To me it’s a joke that a student can do something like this and have it treated so lightly,” she added. “I think the school is setting a very poor example.”

The school says the boy, who has never been in trouble before, made an awful mistake and is sorry for his actions.

 SWITCHBLADE

He’d had his eyes on her for months.

Emily said Bill (not their real names to protect the identity of the children) sometimes followed her on walks to the park or Tim Hortons, pedaling past her repeatedly on his bike.

Many times he even told the girl that he liked her.

But Emily had a boyfriend, and Bill didn’t like that.

The Grade 8 student’s anger erupted during a morning class on Remembrance Day, when he stood up in front of Emily, pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open, holding the four-inch blade in front of the girl’s face.

“I’m going to . . . kill him,” he told the girl during a nutrition break, when the teacher wasn’t present.

Bill told Emily he planned to stab her boyfriend, making the same threat a second time during another nutrition break later that day.

“He said, ‘I’m going to kill him. I’m going to stab him,’” said Emily’s mother.

None of the students reported the incident.

When Emily came home from school she told her mother what had happened.

“I felt like I’d been put in a nightmare,” said Emily’s mother. “I was amazed none of the kids who knew what was going on were comfortable enough to report it.”

Emily begged her mother not to tell the police or the school; she didn’t want to be known as the tattletale who got Bill in trouble.

“She was scared he was going to hurt her.”

The next day, Emily’s parents went to W.O. Mitchell to report the incident.

Several other parents also went to the school or called to complain about the threats.

Police were called in to investigate but decided not to press charges if the boy agreed to enter an anger management class.

The boy apologized and told the principal he was sorry, said Emily’s mother.

The principal promised parents to watch the boy carefully, but refused to transfer him out of Emily’s class.

“He’s back in class now,” said Emily’s mother. “We asked him to be removed to another class but they wouldn’t do that.”

Emily is now nervous about going to school, said her mom.

“She puts up a brave front,” said the girl’s mother. “Her initial fear was that he would beat her up.”

The girl’s mother said she wished the school would have suspended the boy for the 20-day maximum.

“I’d be even more satisfied if he was taken out of her class.”

The principal promised the boy would be closely watched.

But they can’t do anything to protect Emily off school property, said the girl’s mother, who no longer allows her daughter to walk unescorted in public.

“I don’t want her on the streets without an adult,” she said. “She’s just not allowed.”

W.O. Mitchell principal Adell Hay said the school understands the concerns and feelings of the students and parents.

“This is a very serious matter and we are following through on many levels to provide support and guidance to all the students affected,” she said. “The safety of each and every child is foremost in the minds of everyone here.”

Police spoke to students, staff and family members and recommended giving the boy counseling and to closely monitor him instead of laying criminal charges.

“It represented very poor judgement on behalf of the student bringing a knife to the school,” said Charlene Hunter, spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

After investigating the incident and interviewing the boy it was determined he never intended to harm anyone.

“He feels horrible,” said Hunter. “He indicated it was poor judgement, that he made a mistake and that there was no malicious intent involved.”

The boy is a good student and has never been in trouble with the school or police before, she added.

The boy will remain in his class, but he will not sit near the girl he threatened and won’t be allowed to communicate with her, said Hunter.

“The student in question is being monitored closely,” she said.

The school’s principal will keep in close touch with Emily, and has encouraged her to report any problems, fears or concerns.

“She’s been directed to go to (the principal or a teacher) if she’s the least bit uncomfortable,” said Hunter. “This is about two students, not just one.”

She said it’s not easy to put a student in another class.

Earlier this year, the provincial government changed the Ontario Safe School Act, allowing school boards to provide educational programs and counseling to students instead of making an automatic expulsion.

The original legislation, introduced in 2000 by former premier Mike Harris’ Conservative government, allowed automatic expulsions or long-term suspensions for certain offenses, including, bringing weapons to class and threatening another student.

The zero-tolerance policy resulted in large numbers of student suspensions and expulsions.

“When there was zero tolerance, the students were kicked out of school and there were no supports offered to them,” Hunter said. “What restorative justice does is make them accountable for their actions and provide them with support to correct their behaviour.

“If there’s a problem, we’re going to deal with the foundation of the problem, instead of kicking them out of school and forgetting them.”

Ottawa police Chief Vernon White is a proponent of using restorative justice to help communities deal with the problem of youth crime.