The New Westminster school district superintendent says it was "regretful" that a Grade 2 student at Herbert Spencer Elementary was set apart from his classmates in a school photo because he uses a wheelchair.
Woudzia said he emailed the boy's parents to apologize about the incident, which garnered a firestorm of reaction after the story appeared on the front page of the Province newspaper on Friday. The story went global, being featured on the Daily Mail's website, based in the United Kingdom, and in the Toronto Star.
"It's unfortunate, and I just feel so badly for the family this has occurred," Woudzia told The Record.
In the photo, the students and teacher are lined up in three rows, but seven-year-old Miles Ambridge is placed on the far right side away from his classmates.
Miles has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that attacks nerve cells in the spinal cord, causing muscles throughout the body, especially in the arms and legs, to weaken. The disease does not affect cognitive abilities, Thandi Fletcher of the Province reports.
"I understand the photography company, Lifetouch Canada, has assumed responsibility for the matter in which the photograph was organized, and they've acknowledged that the classroom teacher wasn't responsible," Woudzia said. "Obviously the district feels badly about the fact that it happened. We always try to pride ourselves on promoting the values of inclusion and diversity, and it's just unfortunate that this occurred."
Miles' parents and the school principal contacted the company, which at first didn't see a problem with the photo. The company later agreed to reshoot the photo. In the new photo Miles was taken out of his wheelchair and supported by a caregiver on a bench with his classmates, Fletcher reported.
