St. Anselm's Abbey School-Inappropriate relationship between teacher/coach and student

[Anonymous]

It's something that in theory could happen anywhere, trying to sweep it under the rug doesn't help anyone.

[Anonymous]

To the last post.
Exactly. It could actually hurt another student at another school. What is the school doing about this?

[Anonymous]

Can everyone take a deep breath? I haven't heard ANY suggestion that an "inappropriate relationship" had any sexual component at all.

I've heard, from students, a couple rumors about the teacher's dealings with students, but they're all hearsay of hearsay, and NONE of them has anything to do with molestation. I'm inclined NOT to believe the rumors anyway. For one thing, students know about a teacher's dealings with other students, and that's all they know, so they look for reasons in their realm of experience. "Mr. X yelled at my classmate last week; that's probably why he's gone." Or, "Mr. X gave extra help to my classmate. That's probably why he's gone." But the students who spread those rumors - and they spread like wildfire - don't really know anything. Anyone who really knows isn't talking and anyone who's talking doesn't really know.

A more important reason I don't believe the rumor is because I have reason to believe there were innocent pedagogical reasons for making the change. My son had this teacher for a middle-school class, and since the teacher's resignation the class is being taught by the department head using a standard book-following curriculum that another teacher of the same subject has been using, but which the former teacher shunned. The former teacher taught the subject his way, and often bragged to his students about the superiority of his approach, while the department and the school seem to want to regulate the curriculum. My guess is the teacher and the school came to an impasse. But that's just a guess, too.

The third reason I don't believe OP's rumor is that I heard a faculty member's opinion that the teacher who resigned had long-standing issues with the school's administration. I usually think the "personality conflict" between boss and subordinate is an ex-employee's excuse, but I could see it in this case. That makes me think the change was unrelated to any acute crisis.

The school's headmaster sent a letter and e-mail home to all parents about the personnel change, then sent a follow-up the next day to try to quell the rumors that fly when a teacher leaves without explanation. The follow-up stated the school's policy of confidentiality in personnel matters, and ended with this: "I assure you that the needs of our students always come first and I ask for your continued trust and support as we go through this transition."

I am absolutely confident that the school would have contacted law enforcement officers, as they are legally required to do, if there had been any hint of the kind of misconduct that OP tries to suggest. My son and other students I've talked to have not even heard a rumor of any such thing. No such rumor even existed until OP started it in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Some people just hate catholic education; maybe op is one of those.

[Anonymous]

I have read all of the above posts and have some questions.

What if the OP's motive's are less than pure? What if the student's parents would not like this discussion? What if this not the appropriate forum for discussing this sort of situation?

Does the OP's motives matter if this story is true? Do the other parents at the school and other schools have say in discussing this? What is the appropriate forum? What is being done by the school to ensure that this teacher/coach does not apply and teach/coach elsewhere? Doesn't the school have a responsibility to other schools and students/athletes and the educational community? What is the school doing to help the student? What is the school doing with regards to other students who may have been harmed? If the school is handling all of this appropriately then why doesn't some parent or the school say so? Does the school's responsibility to student outweigh the responsibility to other students and parents at the school and the community at large?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have read all of the above posts and have some questions.

What if the OP's motive's are less than pure? What if the student's parents would not like this discussion? What if this not the appropriate forum for discussing this sort of situation?

Does the OP's motives matter if this story is true? Do the other parents at the school and other schools have say in discussing this? What is the appropriate forum? What is being done by the school to ensure that this teacher/coach does not apply and teach/coach elsewhere? Doesn't the school have a responsibility to other schools and students/athletes and the educational community? What is the school doing to help the student? What is the school doing with regards to other students who may have been harmed? If the school is handling all of this appropriately then why doesn't some parent or the school say so? Does the school's responsibility to student outweigh the responsibility to other students and parents at the school and the community at large?

Actually the post from the St. Anselm's "parent" is quite acurate. If the separation was based on an employment issue and not sexual inpropriety then the school has followed the appropriate protocal for addressing the sitituation. Unless a law was actually broken the school cannot officially discuss the nature of the separation. As for the parent community, just because it is not discussed on this forum doesn't mean that they haven't discussed it amongst themselves (e.g. Parent Association). As for the school's responsibility to the educational community, discussing it with other schools without the former employees consent has so many negative legal implications I would catch a cramp typing them all. In sum, the school has been around long enough to know what it can and cannot do.

[Anonymous]

To 11/30/2009 20:31 poster:

The rumors I heard as to why the former teacher/coach at St. Anselm's was asked to resign were not "innocent pedagogical" reasons. While they were not sexual in nature, they were very serious and enough to warrant his being immediately placed on administrative leave and then he resigned within 4 days.

As to this statement, "I am absolutely confident that the school would have contacted law enforcement officers, as they are legally required to do, if there had been any hint of the kind of misconduct that OP tries to suggest. My son and other students I've talked to have not even heard a rumor of any such thing. No such rumor even existed until OP started it in this thread.", that is simply not true. These rumors were flying around the school and outside it the within 24 hours of the former teacher/coach was told to leave campus.
As to your confidence, I wish I shared it.

To 11/30/2009 22:32

I am not sure the post from the St. Anselm's "parent" was accurate. Moreover, even if there was a not a sexual impropriety, if there were credible allegations of abuse, then the school should investigate and address them and disusss them amongst the parent and student community. Which does not appear to have occured.

Finally, as for the school's responsibility to the educational community, I would very much like to hear at least one or two of the negative legal implications for the non lawyer/parents who read this forum.

[Anonymous]

Long-standing personality conflicts or difference of opinion about pedagogy and curriculum rarely lead to immediate dismissals or resignations in the middle of a term. That doesn't benefit any party -- odds are the teacher ends up temporarily unemployed and his classes disrupted.

Sounds like there's a precipitating event. What it is, I don't know and I don't care and I agree DCUM is not the place to figure that out.

But the there's nothing to see here, look away post strikes me as really naive. If this were my DC's school, I would assume that something is up and I'd want clear and credible answers as to what and why it was handled in this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If this were my DC's school, I would assume that something is up and I'd want clear and credible answers as to what and why it was handled in this way.

I couldn't agree more.

[Anonymous]

Is there any more news on this topic from any parents? Preferably something reassuring...? I know St. Anselm's is a wonderful school but I don't understand how or what they are doing about this incident. Please respond if you have something constructive/informative to say.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone explain what happened between the student and the teacher? It's hard to give advice without getting more information as to what the OP is referring to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The coach/teacher was fired. What is St. Anselm's not doing? Why is OP dredging this up? Plus how much can a school do? If this happened to my son, I would get him therapy apart from school and would be satisfied that the school fired the coach/teacher.

Think about the student. What if he found out about this thread? Or his parents? Would they be happy? This thread seems to serve no purpose. It's insensitive. I do not get the point of OP's post. What does OP expect the school to do?

You seem to think the student will feel ashamed if he knows it is discussed. Maybe this attitude perpetuates blaming the victim??? How the heck do you know how the student feels and why do you know better than anyone whether he needs protecting???

[Anonymous]

I'm a St. Anselm's parent, my son was in the teacher's class, one of the kids in our carpool was on the team the teacher coached. If there were any scandal, I'm pretty sure I would have heard something about it. I've heard NOTHING. I know you conspiracy theorists take the absence of evidence as proof of a conspiracy, but this whole discussion, starting with OP's vile innuendo, is ridiculous. You're smearing the teacher and the school and every boy that goes there.

Please call the head of the school if you want information. Louis Silvano, 202-269-2350. Explain to him why it's so important for you to know why a teacher resigned. But please stop pestering us St. Anselm's parents for details of a scandal that never existed.

[Anonymous]

I'm a St. Anselm's parent, my son was in the teacher's class, one of the kids in our carpool was on the team the teacher coached. If there were any scandal, I'm pretty sure I would have heard something about it. I've heard NOTHING. I know you conspiracy theorists take the absence of evidence as proof of a conspiracy, but this whole discussion, starting with OP's vile innuendo, is ridiculous. You're smearing the teacher and the school and every boy that goes there.

Please call the head of the school if you want information. Louis Silvano, 202-269-2350. Explain to him why it's so important for you to know why a teacher resigned. But please stop pestering us St. Anselm's parents for details of a scandal that never existed.

I am a St. Anselm's alumnus parent and my son knows the teacher in question and some of the current students at the center of this situation. I believe my son when he says that the students who reported the teacher in question were being truthful. The fact that a current parent has heard nothing is deeply troubling to me. It suggests a lack of honesty by a school I admire greatly.

I think the 12/17/09 22:27 poster is correct in his/her final point though. Someone should call Mr. Silvano, Father Peter, Ms. Kristoff and ask them some direct questions such as: Why did the teacher resign so quickly? What were the circumstances that led to his resignation? Did the teacher behave in a inappropriate manner towards a student? What has been done? What will be done going forward? How did such a situation occur? What is being done to prevent another one?
The answers you receive, or lack thereof, should be telling.

[Anonymous]

PP, your son says that the students were truthful in reporting the teacher in question. Can you please enlighten us as to what the teacher supposedly did? Some of us may be considering St. Anselm for our boys in the future and it is troubling that posters are being so cagey. It makes everyone assume the worst!