Saanich Peninsula teacher fired for inappropriate contact with former student

A middle school teacher within the Saanich School District (SD63) has been fired and later disciplined by the Province for professional misconduct, according to a decision from the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

Alex Chen was employed by SD63 at the time of the incidents. His employment was terminated on May 5th, 2025, after the District raised concerns about his conduct.

The District reported the matter to the commissioner three days later.

The decision outlines two primary areas of concern. In March 2025, Chen booked three days of paid sick leave despite not being ill, instead using the time to travel to Japan for a personal vacation.

The time off was scheduled shortly after he had been disciplined by the District for filming personal social media content during work hours.

The report also details a pattern of communication with a former student over a two-year period. During that time, Chen sent more than 80 emails to the student, including late-night messages and a recommendation to listen to sexually explicit music.

He also attended sporting events involving the student despite not having any official role with the team.

The student had transferred to another school during much of the communication.

Chen entered into a consent resolution agreement on April 7th, 2026, admitting that his actions constituted professional misconduct and breached provincial standards for educators.

As part of the agreement, Chen received a two-week suspension of his teaching certificate. He is also prohibited from returning to a teaching role until completing a course on maintaining professional boundaries through the Justice Institute of BC.

The commissioner noted that the decision considered the repeated nature of the boundary violations, the length of time over which they occurred and the misuse of sick leave shortly after prior discipline.