At St. Michael’s Choir School, a semi-private institution in downtown Toronto with fewer than 300 students, a typical parent council meeting may draw 15 to 20 attendees.
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meeting → draw → attendees
But on Sept. 24, just three weeks into the academic year, nearly 40 parents streamed into the school’s brick building, which overlooks the imposing Catholic basilica across the street, to attend the first council meeting of the term.
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which → stream → term
So many people showed up that the gathering had to be relocated from a classroom into the cafeteria.
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gathering → show → cafeteria
What followed was a tense — and at times confrontational — assembly.
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followed → follow → times
Parents grilled the school’s executive director, Geoffrey Rawlinson.
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Parents → grill → director
Many wanted a formal town hall with school and church leaders to address what they saw as instability at the school and glaring staff shortages, according to three individuals in attendance.
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they → want → attendance
Rawlinson did not commit to hosting a town hall and sidestepped many of the questions, the three people said.
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people → commit → questions
The Sept. 24 meeting marked a flashpoint for the tight-knit community at St. Michael’s, one of the world’s most prestigious all-boys choral academies.
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meeting → mark → academies
It occurred as the school has been roiled by internal turmoil and a slew of high-profile departures over the past two years that have now led to a third-party review.
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that → occur → review
At the centre of the tension is Rawlinson, who multiple current and former staff, along with parents of current students, said has fostered a toxic workplace environment, engaged in bullying and inappropriate behaviour, and let the school’s prestigious choral program flounder under his watch.
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program → say → watch
Over two months, the Star spoke with five parents, along with six current and former staff, who discussed the environment at the school under Rawlinson’s tenure.
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who → speak → tenure
The staff were granted anonymity so they could talk freely without violating the terms of their confidentiality agreements, which they signed when they were hired and which require them to maintain confidentiality “in perpetuity.”
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which → grant → perpetuity
The parents were also granted anonymity out of fear of reprisal against their children.
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parents → grant → children
Over the past two years, at least five of these individuals who spoke with the Star reached out to the Archdiocese of Toronto, which oversees the school’s choral institute, to express concern about Rawlinson’s leadership and the school’s direction.
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which → speak → leadership
They said that despite meeting with church leaders and sending letters outlining their concerns, the archdiocese has either not responded or failed to adequately respond to their complaints.
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archdiocese → say → complaints
Morale was really, really, really low,” said one former staff member, describing their time working under Rawlinson.
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member → say → Rawlinson
Edwin Gonsalves, the rector of the St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, to whom Rawlinson reports, said in a statement to the Star on Thursday that the archdiocese has “engaged an independent party” to review the concerns and provide recommendations.
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archdiocese → report → recommendations
“Mr. Rawlinson supports this process and shares our commitment to a respectful, supportive and collaborative environment for all,” he added.
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he → support → all
When asked by the Star, the archdiocese did not identify the firm it has retained, nor the scope of the review.
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it → ask → review
“We anticipate that the review will begin shortly,” a spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → anticipate → ?
Rawlinson did not respond separately to the allegations.
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Rawlinson → respond → allegations
He told the Star that he would let the rector’s comments stand as his response.
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comments → tell → response
St. Michael’s, which was established in 1937 as an elementary school for the choirboys at the adjacent Catholic cathedral of the same name, has a unique administrative structure.
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which → establish → structure
The academy, which now runs from Grades 3 to 12, is jointly managed by the Archdiocese of Toronto and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
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which → run → Toronto
The former, represented by the executive director, manages the choral institute, which has more than two dozen staff, while the public school board oversees the academic programming.
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board → represent → programming
The music staff at the choral institute are non-unionized and have fewer protections compared to their colleagues on the academic side, who work for the public school board.
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who → have → board
Rawlinson, an alumnus of St. Michael’s who graduated in 1991, went on to work in finance.
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who → graduate → finance
He stepped into the role of executive director in May 2024.
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He → step → May
Concerns about his conduct started just weeks into his tenure, according to six current and former staff who spoke with the Star.
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who → start → Star
Those who spoke with the Star said Rawlinson would yell at employees, sometimes in front of students.
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Rawlinson → speak → students
“There was constant threatening,” said one former staff member.
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member → be → ?
“He would say, ‘Anybody can do your job.
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Anybody → say → job
If you don’t want to do it this way, I’ll just get somebody else to do it.’
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somebody → want → it
That was a threat that happened on a regular basis.”
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that → happen → basis
The six current and former staff said that Rawlinson unilaterally reversed audition decisions made by choral staff and admitted students who weren’t qualified to join the program.
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who → say → program
The executive director, they said, would also overrule his staff’s decisions pertaining to end-of-year scholarships and awards, which was not done by previous executive directors.
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which → say → directors
The six current and former staff who worked under Rawlinson described him as a micromanager.
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who → work → micromanager
Shortly after he joined the school, staff said they were no longer allowed to co-ordinate the music programming with their colleagues at the cathedral, where the school choirs perform each week for mass.
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choirs → join → mass
They said Rawlinson wanted conductors to vet all music with him.
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conductors → say → him
Gonsalves did not directly respond to the allegations of Rawlinson’s micromanagement, but said that “a number of procedures at the choir school have changed over the past three years at the request of, or with the support of, the cathedral and the archdiocese.
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number → respond → cathedral
…and 38 more, not listed.
The Aporia
