Beauvoir Scandal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the parent of an incoming pre-k student at Beauvoir. The situation as we know it is quite concerning and well worth further investigation by the police, the school and the Beauvoir community. We were made aware of the situation in a timely and appropriate fashion. While the school may have consulted a PR firm and/or lawyer, I believe those actions, if true, are completely appropriate. The fine people at Beauvoir are educators, not lawyers or experts at dealing with public inquiries and media scrutiny. The issues this situation presents are sensitive, complicated and difficult to manage. As such, it is appropriate, if not necessary, for the administration to seek the advice and counsel of professionals. I caution all of you - whether connected with Beauvoir or not - to remember that this any situation like this needs to be handled in an fair, reasonable and appropriate manner for all the parties concerned. We certainly need to do everything in our power to protect our child, we cannot be reckless. We certainly need to protect our children from predators and pedophiles but we also need to have the authorities investigate the situation to determine the facts. Due process and overall fairness dictates that rumors and gossip cannot prevail. Over the course of reviewing this group discussion, I've seen a lot of uninformed and reckless chatter thrown around which is unfortunate.

My recommendation, as we have decided to proceed, is for those of you who are part of the Beauvoir family to call Paula and ask tough and pointed questions.

Hysterical.

As is often the case when it comes to things relating to Beauvoir, things are misinterpreted, even twisted, into some sort of snub or snobbery. I'm not the PP, but I think the highlighted language was innocent and well-intentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the parent of an incoming pre-k student at Beauvoir. The situation as we know it is quite concerning and well worth further investigation by the police, the school and the Beauvoir community. We were made aware of the situation in a timely and appropriate fashion. While the school may have consulted a PR firm and/or lawyer, I believe those actions, if true, are completely appropriate. The fine people at Beauvoir are educators, not lawyers or experts at dealing with public inquiries and media scrutiny. The issues this situation presents are sensitive, complicated and difficult to manage. As such, it is appropriate, if not necessary, for the administration to seek the advice and counsel of professionals. I caution all of you - whether connected with Beauvoir or not - to remember that this any situation like this needs to be handled in an fair, reasonable and appropriate manner for all the parties concerned. We certainly need to do everything in our power to protect our child, we cannot be reckless. We certainly need to protect our children from predators and pedophiles but we also need to have the authorities investigate the situation to determine the facts. Due process and overall fairness dictates that rumors and gossip cannot prevail. Over the course of reviewing this group discussion, I've seen a lot of uninformed and reckless chatter thrown around which is unfortunate.

My recommendation, as we have decided to proceed, is for those of you who are part of the Beauvoir family to call Paula and ask tough and pointed questions.

Hysterical.

As is often the case when it comes to things relating to Beauvoir, things are misinterpreted, even twisted, into some sort of snub or snobbery. I'm not the PP, but I think the highlighted language was innocent and well-intentioned.

I disagree. The post was carefully thought out and generally well written. The snub, if that's the way you see it, was clear and intentional. I, for one, read this as a warning for "outsiders" to stay out of this and for "insiders" to keep this dirty laundry in-house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I've ever read a story about a private figure who has not been arrested for or charged with a crime simply being under suspicion. I have no doubt that if charges are ever filed against the person in question it will be covered in the press. But it would be irresponsible to report suspicions in the Post or any other media outlet before charges are filed. Period.

The fact is, charges might never be filed. For starters, it's hard to prove who took a photo. In addition, while the camera was found in the teacher's classroom, it was not in his physical possession, and it would be hard to prove conclusively that he knew the pictures were on the camera. The burden of proof in a courtoom is much higher than it is on an internet BB. That being said, I have little doubt that he is guilty. For better or worse, we live in a country where my certainty is not enough to land someone in jail.

As to the questions about whether background checks are done on teachers, of course they are. But as someone pointed out, if an individual hasn't been arrested previously, as is the case here, there is nothing for the background check to pick up. The lesson for parents considering independent schools is that your $30,000 doesn't buy you entry to a parallel universe where the ills of larger society are not present. Some parents at independent schools drink too much. Some of them beat their spouses or kids. Some of them have personality disorders. There is a vanishingly small chance that one of them is a pedophile. This true of the teachers, too. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourselves.

For parents who are considering whether this incident should affect their choice of independent schools, the fact is that this could have happened anywhere. The fact that it happened at Beauvoir in no way suggests that it was ex ante more likely to happen there than anywhere else. And it does not suggest that it is more likely to happen at Beauvoir in the future than anywhere else. The schools all hire out of the same pool, and do the same background checks.

Finally, there were some questions about why the school provided opportunities for teachers be alone with students in settings where abuse could occur. The overwhelming body of evidence in these types of cases suggests that teacher sex abuse almost never occurs on campus. Instead, it virtually always occurs away from campus. Teachers use the school relationship--with both students and their parents--as a tool to gain unsupervised access to the children away from campus, where the abuse can occur. In a school setting, with assistant teachers and others coming in and out of the room constantly, it's too dangerous, if nothing else, to attempt to abuse a child. A little reseach on the 'net will back this up.

Finally, a disclaimer: I do not work for the school. I am a Beauvoir parent. I am as worried about the welfare of my child, and of my child's classmates, as anyone. But I have very little patience for people who will post anonymously on the web regarding situations about which they clearly have no knowledge. Inevitably, some people will doubt my motives in posting this. The fact that I have doubts about the motives of some of the authors of outrageous posts prior to this one will, I suspect, give them little pause.

I'm pretty sure that with children this age, sexual abuse by teachers does not overwhelmingly occur away from campus - it happens after school, during extracurricular activities or extended school hours - any time that the teacher can get a child alone and vulnerable and dependent on him. At this age, most children are too young to "visit" teachers or spend time with them away from the school.

I know plenty of young teachers/daycare workers, etc. who babysit for families after school or on weekends to make some extra money. So, I believe there is ample opportunity for something like this to happen off campus. If this was a favorite teacher, he probably was asked to babysit, tutor, etc by many families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the parent of an incoming pre-k student at Beauvoir. The situation as we know it is quite concerning and well worth further investigation by the police, the school and the Beauvoir community. We were made aware of the situation in a timely and appropriate fashion. While the school may have consulted a PR firm and/or lawyer, I believe those actions, if true, are completely appropriate. The fine people at Beauvoir are educators, not lawyers or experts at dealing with public inquiries and media scrutiny. The issues this situation presents are sensitive, complicated and difficult to manage. As such, it is appropriate, if not necessary, for the administration to seek the advice and counsel of professionals. I caution all of you - whether connected with Beauvoir or not - to remember that this any situation like this needs to be handled in an fair, reasonable and appropriate manner for all the parties concerned. We certainly need to do everything in our power to protect our child, we cannot be reckless. We certainly need to protect our children from predators and pedophiles but we also need to have the authorities investigate the situation to determine the facts. Due process and overall fairness dictates that rumors and gossip cannot prevail. Over the course of reviewing this group discussion, I've seen a lot of uninformed and reckless chatter thrown around which is unfortunate.

My recommendation, as we have decided to proceed, is for those of you who are part of the Beauvoir family to call Paula and ask tough and pointed questions.

Hysterical.

As is often the case when it comes to things relating to Beauvoir, things are misinterpreted, even twisted, into some sort of snub or snobbery. I'm not the PP, but I think the highlighted language was innocent and well-intentioned.

I disagree. The post was carefully thought out and generally well written. The snub, if that's the way you see it, was clear and intentional. I, for one, read this as a warning for "outsiders" to stay out of this and for "insiders" to keep this dirty laundry in-house.

Yes, and of course the irony is that there is a child abuser in their family.

[Anonymous]

"For parents who are considering whether this incident should affect their choice of independent schools, the fact is that this could have happened anywhere. The fact that it happened at Beauvoir in no way suggests that it was ex ante more likely to happen there than anywhere else. And it does not suggest that it is more likely to happen at Beauvoir in the future than anywhere else. The schools all hire out of the same pool, and do the same background checks"

Its naive to chalk this up to well it could have happened anywhere. This defense tends to never work in the court of PR let alone other courts. Sadly, I believe there are things we can do to protect our children more but this attitude will keep many from finding those solutions.

Some schools have policies disallowing teachers from babysitting or doing personal tutoring. IMO this is a perfect example of a policy that can protect individuals at many levels. Schools can also not provide private access to areas or keep video cameras, as a deterrent, in various places. Pedaphiles are driven to seek out their target and they target schools or other positions that give them access to children. The more safety controls that restrict their ability to achieve their goal the more likely they will move on.

Look at the scandals with the Catholic Church, the constant cover up and denial that subjected so many children to harm. Without public exposure it could still be going on. Rather than try to hide this in order to protect the reputation of the school, the story and others like it should be more public in order to pressure administrators to find new ways to protect against this.

[Anonymous]

In am the poster from 16:43 today. I take exception to the commentaries posted in reply to my observations. My comments we meant to bring a level headed analysis to a forum discussion that at times bordered on silly, hysterical and juvenile. Too many of the posts sought out conspiracies where none existed, assigned guilt without waiting for or knowing all the facts, and did not appear to be based on a desire to protect and safeguard the children of Beauvoir. and were seeming etc. If you read thru the forum, you will see that some posters used terms such as pornography, child abuser and criticized the school for seeking out legal representation or other professional assistance. Others openly worried about the impact on their children gaining admissions if they asked questions about the situation. Many if the comments, were in my view, not well-intentioned, geared toward gathering the facts or providing parents of current or future students with the facts. Instead, many of the posts were playing out like the worst kind of junior high gossip game -- where facts never get in the way of a good story.

My reference to the Beauvoir family was not meant to be snobbish or the like. My thoughts were based on how my family was considering the situation and sought to offer other intererested and fair-minded parties a sense of how to view the situation. Moreover, I meant the term "Beauvoir family" in the broadest sense of the concept, that is, the group of people who care about the school and are genuinely concerned about the children, faculty, friends and administration of the school. While I did not mean snub anyone, I did mean to send a pointed message to the Beauvoir haters and juvenile gossipers who seemed to be be trivializing a potentially serious situation.

[Anonymous]

Beauvoir is paying the price for hubris and arrogance of its administrators. Our cathedral brothers and sisters are getting layed off due to financial mismanagement while the Beauvoir head of school makes an annual salary of $330,000. That means that out of the $30,000 annual tuition $10,000 goes directly to the head. Add on top of that the private security provided by PECF police that patrol the homes of school heads, the unlimited charge card and travel allowances, generous health and deferred compensation and the compensation package hits $500,000. No elementary school head is worth that much. Those of us who work for PECF know that the entire annual giving campaign at Beauvoir goes to feather the beds of the top four administrators not for teacher salaries. The Beauvoir board are at best asleep at the switch and not exercising governance and at worse too busy sucking up to the administration in hopes of getting their kids into STA and NCS. What can you expect from the past board chair who was tied up in an FEC investigation and the new board chair recently resigned from the World Wildlife Fund. Board members are simply window dressing. There was a conscious effort by administrators to hire teachers on the cheap, young teachers who do not have the will and experience to challenge the administration, and who could give the school's administrators more pocket change. The latest pedophile incident is just the scandal de jour but hardly surprising. The previous scandal involved two children (white and black) playing with fecal material on the playground. A young teacher sent the white child back to class and made the black child pick up the fecal material with his hands! There should be a comprehensive investigation from outside of the cathedral that covers not just Beauvoir but all of the cathedral's hanky panky. Don't expect Beauvoir to clean up its own house. Look at the number of STA teachers who send their children to Saint Patricks. That should be a clue as to what educators think of Beauvoir. Sorry Beauvoir you aren't getting much sympathy from a family that's had two generations of alums. Integrity is more important than alumni loyalty. Don't expect the Post to investigate when 20+ family members have graduated from cathedral schools.

[Anonymous]

This whole thing is so personally upsetting for me. I am in such turmoil about what has happened or what has not happened but is assumed to have happened. I don't need to hear about fecal matter or the Washington Post. I am navigating through a spectrum of emotions. Top of the list, I want to be able to talk happily in front of my DC about third grade. I can, but only if no one is around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The previous scandal involved two children (white and black) playing with fecal material on the playground. A young teacher sent the white child back to class and made the black child pick up the fecal material with his hands!

Are you suggesting that there are racial issues at Beauvoir?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beauvoir is paying the price for hubris and arrogance of its administrators. Our cathedral brothers and sisters are getting layed off due to financial mismanagement while the Beauvoir head of school makes an annual salary of $330,000. That means that out of the $30,000 annual tuition $10,000 goes directly to the head. Add on top of that the private security provided by PECF police that patrol the homes of school heads, the unlimited charge card and travel allowances, generous health and deferred compensation and the compensation package hits $500,000. No elementary school head is worth that much. Those of us who work for PECF know that the entire annual giving campaign at Beauvoir goes to feather the beds of the top four administrators not for teacher salaries. The Beauvoir board are at best asleep at the switch and not exercising governance and at worse too busy sucking up to the administration in hopes of getting their kids into STA and NCS. What can you expect from the past board chair who was tied up in an FEC investigation and the new board chair recently resigned from the World Wildlife Fund. Board members are simply window dressing. There was a conscious effort by administrators to hire teachers on the cheap, young teachers who do not have the will and experience to challenge the administration, and who could give the school's administrators more pocket change. The latest pedophile incident is just the scandal de jour but hardly surprising. The previous scandal involved two children (white and black) playing with fecal material on the playground. A young teacher sent the white child back to class and made the black child pick up the fecal material with his hands! There should be a comprehensive investigation from outside of the cathedral that covers not just Beauvoir but all of the cathedral's hanky panky. Don't expect Beauvoir to clean up its own house. Look at the number of STA teachers who send their children to Saint Patricks. That should be a clue as to what educators think of Beauvoir. Sorry Beauvoir you aren't getting much sympathy from a family that's had two generations of alums. Integrity is more important than alumni loyalty. Don't expect the Post to investigate when 20+ family members have graduated from cathedral schools.

This is an interesting and thought provoking post.

Thank you for sharing and for having the courage to do so.

But I do take issue with, or at least question, a number of your statements.

1) When you say "latest pedophile" incident, you are not suggesting there have been others, are you?

2) Do the STA teachers who send their children to Saint Patricks eventually transfer them to STA/NCS? I'm not sure that is the case, which is why this number (which is admittedly suprisingly high) may be more telling of what they think of STA/NCS than Beauvoir. Goodness knows, the only topic that consistently garners more traffic on this website (good and bad) is STA/NCS.

3) The comment regarding the Board "sucking up" to the administration in hopes of getting their kid into STA/NCS isn't quite right. Almost all of the Beauvoir kids will get admitted to STA/NCS. That's an established fact. Lost in all of this muck is the fact that the Beauvoir kids are all smart, well-rounded kids, who fare well on the academic and athletic fields, and who have received top-notch preparation at Beauvoir. No "sucking up" to gain admission is necessary. The Board does, however, have a "sucking up" tendency because as a group, they are a feckless, hyper-competitive, and posturing bunch, chosen in large part because of their proven ability to "suck up."

4) The criticism of the young teachers is unfair. Putting aside the young teacher in question and current "scandal" -- which neither the school nor the Board could have foreseen or prevented -- the young teachers at the school are all bright, dedicated, and lovely people. I am always impressed and pleasantly surprised that the school is always so successful at recruiting such wonderful and talented young teachers.

5) Your description of the incident involving the black and white child is also misleading. I will not pass along hearsay. Perhaps others will. I will only say that the teacher handled the situation appropriately given all of the circumstances and prior history.

6) The Post isn't the only news game in town. If this is truly newsworthy, and there is truly a conspiracy by the Post to suppress the story, why doesn't someone just forward this link to another paper, a tv station, or some higher profile (sorry DCUM, I love you, but you know what I mean) blog/webiste?

7) Yes, Paula's salary is high. But isn't it comparable to those of other heads of school of the "elite" private schools. Besides, she's one of the best things Beauvoir has going for it. I know she has the strength and fortitude to ensure that justice is served while at the same time she steers Beauvoir through some very choppy, shark infested waters ahead.

[Anonymous]

As to the questions about whether background checks are done on teachers, of course they are. But as someone pointed out, if an individual hasn't been arrested previously, as is the case here, there is nothing for the background check to pick up. The lesson for parents considering independent schools is that your $30,000 doesn't buy you entry to a parallel universe where the ills of larger society are not present. Some parents at independent schools drink too much. Some of them beat their spouses or kids. Some of them have personality disorders. There is a vanishingly small chance that one of them is a pedophile. This true of the teachers, too. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourselves.

For parents who are considering whether this incident should affect their choice of independent schools, the fact is that this could have happened anywhere. The fact that it happened at Beauvoir in no way suggests that it was ex ante more likely to happen there than anywhere else. And it does not suggest that it is more likely to happen at Beauvoir in the future than anywhere else. The schools all hire out of the same pool, and do the same background checks.




Though I appreciate the sensibility of your post....there have been lots of ridiculous posts...it is not entirely accurate that "of course background checks are completed. Independent Schools in DC are NOT required to do background checks. I discovered this after inquiring at my DS's former Montessori pre-school - a school often referenced on this list serve as highly recommended. I suggest that parents not assume that background checks are completed on all staff at the school - because it may not. This is a very specific question that you should ask when considering a school.

Having said that, background checks are not a guarantee of your child's safety, but it is a good starting point.

[Anonymous]

We are a diverse family admitted to Beauvoir for the Fall. Please elaborate on the situation with the Black and White Child. I want to understand the history that made the teachers handling of the situation appropriate. I am not clear and this is very disturbing to me as a parent of color. If there are known race issues please share. This may cause us to rethink our decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a diverse family admitted to Beauvoir for the Fall. Please elaborate on the situation with the Black and White Child. I want to understand the history that made the teachers handling of the situation appropriate. I am not clear and this is very disturbing to me as a parent of color. If there are known race issues please share. This may cause us to rethink our decision.

7:55, are you for real, or are you just a lurker trying to fan some flames?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a diverse family admitted to Beauvoir for the Fall. Please elaborate on the situation with the Black and White Child. I want to understand the history that made the teachers handling of the situation appropriate. I am not clear and this is very disturbing to me as a parent of color. If there are known race issues please share. This may cause us to rethink our decision.

7:55, are you for real, or are you just a lurker trying to fan some flames?

No not a lurker trying to fan some flames but a concerned parent. Parents are concerned about the incident with the teacher and now another issue has been raised about race relations. I have never heard anything like this before but if you read previous post on page 10 of this thread it seems as if something did happen where a black child was reprimanded differently than a white child. If this is the case I want to be aware of this type of unconsistency in discipline especially when it comes to handling/playing with something gross such as fecal material. So just like every other parent on this forum I have a right to information that may/may not deal with my DC.

To the writer of this post who inquired about my seriousness are you a current parent?

[Anonymous]

Typo should be "inconsistency" in discipline.