A Grade 3 Bearspaw School student who was critically injured on Dec. 12 after he was strangled by his school lanyard is now in recovery.
Chestermere-Rocky View MLA Bruce McAllister said he was told the child was taken off of life support and is on the long road to recovery.
“The community is rallying and hoping and praying for the best,” said McAllister, adding he has no news on the boy’s long-term prognosis.
The student was discovered unconscious by a schoolmate, strangled by his lanyard in the door of a washroom. A teacher was informed and 911 emergency was contacted and arrived on scene.
It was later determined the boy had been choked for a maximum of four minutes, the time that elapsed from when he signed out of his classroom to use the washroom and when he was discovered.
The boy was transported to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
Angela Spanier, Rocky View Schools (RVS) spokesperson, said the division can’t comment on the child’s condition, but said schools are no longer using non-breakaway lanyards.
Education Minister Jeff Johnson halted the use of the lanyards in schools across the province on Dec. 15.
“As requested by the minister, all schools in RVS have discontinued the use of non-breakaway lanyards,” she said. “To help schools offset the cost of purchasing new, Local 35 of the Alberta Teachers’ Association purchased breakaway lanyards for all teachers.”
