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TDSB creates new safety panel in wake of Hamid Aminzada's stabbing death

The Toronto District School Board is reviewing safety in schools following the stabbing death of Hamid Aminzada at North Albion Collegiate Institute last month.

TDSB director of education Donna Quan said on Monday the board would "soon begin an independent review into the facts surrounding the events leading to and following the death of Hamid and to determine if more can be done to prevent such deaths and to improve support and engagement of students and families."

The review panel will include Kim Derry, former deputy chief of Toronto police; Sharifa Khan, a marketing executive with "expertise in community voice and engagement"; and Karen Forbes, a former TDSB executive superintendent of education.

Aminzada, 19, was killed as he tried to intervene in a fight between two other students in the hallway at North Albion Collegiate Institute on Sept. 23. A 17-year-old student later turned himself into police and faces one charge of second-degree murder.

"While at North Albion CI, I saw firsthand how the community and other agencies, and the ways in which they communicated, played significant roles in honouring Hamid and offering support to his family," the statement read.

"The review will assist us in understanding the circumstances around this tragic incident to ensure that we continue moving the gains we’ve made in creating safe and caring school environments out to our school communities."

The committee is expected to complete an interim report by late November, with a final report due for publication in March 2015.

A similar panel was established in the wake of 15-year-old Jordan Manner's shooting death at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in May 2007. Following that committee's recommendations, security cameras were installed in high schools throughout the city and an increased police presence at some schools was implemented.

- On mobile? Click here to see the safety review panel's terms of reference