PSA - Sex abuse at Washington Hebrew

[Anonymous]

Is anyone else thinking there should be an independent investigation going on to supplement DCPD? If the temple doesn’t initiate this (which seems to be the status quo) what would it cost for parents to fund?

[Anonymous]

Temple doubling down on powers that be despite not knowing all the facts (and despite the plus program being disaster irrespective of this disaster). Amazing how all institutions are basically the same regardless of how progressive they proclaim to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my first post. I have followed this thread closely as I have one child who was at WH Summer 2016 through Summer 2018 and another slated to begin tomorrow. The information provided regarding the suspect tells me with absolute certainty who it is and, devastatingly, also tells me my child had substantial contact with this suspect over the course of 2 years. If your child was in PLUS your child almost certainly came into contact with the suspect. If not, and you still cannot deduce who it is, perhaps the extent of your child’s contact was a high-five in the hall.

For those who believe people who have posted in this thread have “an axe to grind” with DJ, I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. DJ has truly interesting curricular ideas and the capacity to design an outstanding preschool program (which I do believe we have through the 9-12 program and teachers), however her lack of oversight and blind dedication to her vision of the school resulted in an environment where no one who spent more than 3 hours a day there is surprised that an unknown and ongoing course of behavior could have occurred during this time period.

I truly believe that on Monday, WH will be a safe place for all of our children. The teachers are by and large wonderful and the heightened oversight has resulted in the implementation of procedures that many PLUS parents have been requesting for years.

That being said, for those of us whose children may have been victimized within the walls of WH, sending a child back there is a hard pill to swallow.

Sorry for what you are going through and thanks for your informative post. Your discussion of DJ was quite different than some earlier posts in tone and substance. I don't think anyone would think you, or someone posting in a similar manner, had an axe to grind. Having said that, I can see why some of the other posts (especially fairly early in the thread) were viewed that way and it is still possible that some posters do have an axe to grind even if you, and some other posters do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my first post. I have followed this thread closely as I have one child who was at WH Summer 2016 through Summer 2018 and another slated to begin tomorrow. The information provided regarding the suspect tells me with absolute certainty who it is and, devastatingly, also tells me my child had substantial contact with this suspect over the course of 2 years. If your child was in PLUS your child almost certainly came into contact with the suspect. If not, and you still cannot deduce who it is, perhaps the extent of your child’s contact was a high-five in the hall.

For those who believe people who have posted in this thread have “an axe to grind” with DJ, I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. DJ has truly interesting curricular ideas and the capacity to design an outstanding preschool program (which I do believe we have through the 9-12 program and teachers), however her lack of oversight and blind dedication to her vision of the school resulted in an environment where no one who spent more than 3 hours a day there is surprised that an unknown and ongoing course of behavior could have occurred during this time period.

I truly believe that on Monday, WH will be a safe place for all of our children. The teachers are by and large wonderful and the heightened oversight has resulted in the implementation of procedures that many PLUS parents have been requesting for years.

That being said, for those of us whose children may have been victimized within the walls of WH, sending a child back there is a hard pill to swallow.

Sorry for what you are going through and thanks for your informative post. Your discussion of DJ was quite different than some earlier posts in tone and substance. I don't think anyone would think you, or someone posting in a similar manner, had an axe to grind. Having said that, I can see why some of the other posts (especially fairly early in the thread) were viewed that way and it is still possible that some posters do have an axe to grind even if you, and some other posters do not.

What’s all this “ax to grind” business. People are experiencing various degrees of upset and stages of grief for a pretty obvious reason. A predator was possibly hired to watch their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my first post. I have followed this thread closely as I have one child who was at WH Summer 2016 through Summer 2018 and another slated to begin tomorrow. The information provided regarding the suspect tells me with absolute certainty who it is and, devastatingly, also tells me my child had substantial contact with this suspect over the course of 2 years. If your child was in PLUS your child almost certainly came into contact with the suspect. If not, and you still cannot deduce who it is, perhaps the extent of your child’s contact was a high-five in the hall.

For those who believe people who have posted in this thread have “an axe to grind” with DJ, I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. DJ has truly interesting curricular ideas and the capacity to design an outstanding preschool program (which I do believe we have through the 9-12 program and teachers), however her lack of oversight and blind dedication to her vision of the school resulted in an environment where no one who spent more than 3 hours a day there is surprised that an unknown and ongoing course of behavior could have occurred during this time period.

I truly believe that on Monday, WH will be a safe place for all of our children. The teachers are by and large wonderful and the heightened oversight has resulted in the implementation of procedures that many PLUS parents have been requesting for years.

That being said, for those of us whose children may have been victimized within the walls of WH, sending a child back there is a hard pill to swallow.

Sorry for what you are going through and thanks for your informative post. Your discussion of DJ was quite different than some earlier posts in tone and substance. I don't think anyone would think you, or someone posting in a similar manner, had an axe to grind. Having said that, I can see why some of the other posts (especially fairly early in the thread) were viewed that way and it is still possible that some posters do have an axe to grind even if you, and some other posters do not.

What’s all this “ax to grind” business. People are experiencing various degrees of upset and stages of grief for a pretty obvious reason. A predator was possibly hired to watch their children.

Exactly. It's also more than the fact that DJ hired a predator. She knew so much more than is being admitted now. I have first hand knowledge of the fact that she was told more than once about inappropriate behavior by the alleged predator as early as spring 2016 and not only did she not do anything about it she made those who reported the behavior feel like they were crazy for thinking it was inappropriate. She knew. I can't get past that. As far as I'm concerned she is just as much to blame for the perpetrator's action. She could have prevented this by not ignoring what she was told. I grew up at WHC. My Bat Mitzvah was there, I was married there as was my brother. I have a lot of love for WHC but I can't believe what is happening now and that DJ is still the director. I don't have children there anymore (but I did in 2016) and I'm still furious and disgusted by what this teacher did but also the temple as a whole. It's disgusting the way they are supporting her.

[Anonymous]

This is my first post. I have a child scheduled to start school again tomorrow and one who finished camp two weeks ago. I have no ax to grind. But both of my children have been in care of the accused. I understand folks not wanting to undermine an investigation, but for the sake of those who may need to entrust the care of their children to the school, can you please elaborate on the complaints and issues dating back to 2016? I was well aware of the chaotic nature of plus, and was never thrilled with it, but I always thought my children were safe and that I could trust the caretakers. Now it seems neither may be true. More information would help me understand whether I can continue to bring my child there.

Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my first post. I have followed this thread closely as I have one child who was at WH Summer 2016 through Summer 2018 and another slated to begin tomorrow. The information provided regarding the suspect tells me with absolute certainty who it is and, devastatingly, also tells me my child had substantial contact with this suspect over the course of 2 years. If your child was in PLUS your child almost certainly came into contact with the suspect. If not, and you still cannot deduce who it is, perhaps the extent of your child’s contact was a high-five in the hall.

For those who believe people who have posted in this thread have “an axe to grind” with DJ, I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. DJ has truly interesting curricular ideas and the capacity to design an outstanding preschool program (which I do believe we have through the 9-12 program and teachers), however her lack of oversight and blind dedication to her vision of the school resulted in an environment where no one who spent more than 3 hours a day there is surprised that an unknown and ongoing course of behavior could have occurred during this time period.

I truly believe that on Monday, WH will be a safe place for all of our children. The teachers are by and large wonderful and the heightened oversight has resulted in the implementation of procedures that many PLUS parents have been requesting for years.

That being said, for those of us whose children may have been victimized within the walls of WH, sending a child back there is a hard pill to swallow.

Sorry for what you are going through and thanks for your informative post. Your discussion of DJ was quite different than some earlier posts in tone and substance. I don't think anyone would think you, or someone posting in a similar manner, had an axe to grind. Having said that, I can see why some of the other posts (especially fairly early in the thread) were viewed that way and it is still possible that some posters do have an axe to grind even if you, and some other posters do not.

What’s all this “ax to grind” business. People are experiencing various degrees of upset and stages of grief for a pretty obvious reason. A predator was possibly hired to watch their children.

Exactly. It's also more than the fact that DJ hired a predator. She knew so much more than is being admitted now. I have first hand knowledge of the fact that she was told more than once about inappropriate behavior by the alleged predator as early as spring 2016 and not only did she not do anything about it she made those who reported the behavior feel like they were crazy for thinking it was inappropriate. She knew. I can't get past that. As far as I'm concerned she is just as much to blame for the perpetrator's action. She could have prevented this by not ignoring what she was told. I grew up at WHC. My Bat Mitzvah was there, I was married there as was my brother. I have a lot of love for WHC but I can't believe what is happening now and that DJ is still the director. I don't have children there anymore (but I did in 2016) and I'm still furious and disgusted by what this teacher did but also the temple as a whole. It's disgusting the way they are supporting her.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how so many know who is accused when charges haven’t been made. Or has a person been charged? WHC parent unsure what to do tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how so many know who is accused when charges haven’t been made. Or has a person been charged? WHC parent unsure what to do tomorrow.

Do you have an alternative childcare or can you stay home? If not, what could you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how so many know who is accused when charges haven’t been made. Or has a person been charged? WHC parent unsure what to do tomorrow.

Do you have an alternative childcare or can you stay home? If not, what could you do?

I don’t understand why you need alternative childcare. The alleged perpetrator is no longer there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how so many know who is accused when charges haven’t been made. Or has a person been charged? WHC parent unsure what to do tomorrow.

Do you have an alternative childcare or can you stay home? If not, what could you do?

I don’t understand why you need alternative childcare. The alleged perpetrator is no longer there.

Because the director who ignored parents’ misgivings is still in charge. A position like that requires good judgement and humility. Some humility is probably a prerequisite to good judgement.

[Anonymous]

This message is from a family of one of the victims to clarify what we believe has been misleading information by the temple.

Both the temple and law enforcement were informed on August 15 and August 16 of two separate allegations of potentially ongoing sexual abuse. Based upon what these two victims shared as to their experience, the names of 5 more children surfaced, each of whom may have been subjected to the same inappropriate conduct by the teacher in question. This confirms that there are at least 7 children who might have been harmed.

We are sharing this so that the temple's communication, which has not made explicitly clear that there is more than one known possible victim, does not mislead families to be unconcerned as to whether their child might have been impacted. Simply, this is potentially a more pervasive problem than has been suggested, and so all of us should demand transparency for our children's sake.

[Anonymous]

This is absolutely horrifying. While I do not know for sure who the suspect is, I certainly have my suspicions. I can’t say for certain was around whom I suspect is the teacher in question this past year, but my child absolutely was in previous years. I am sick to my stomach. I have zero idea if my child was harmed and it’s made me feel helpless. My heart breaks for those who have been affected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how so many know who is accused when charges haven’t been made. Or has a person been charged? WHC parent unsure what to do tomorrow.

Do you have an alternative childcare or can you stay home? If not, what could you do?

I don’t understand why you need alternative childcare. The alleged perpetrator is no longer there.

Likely more than one. This is the top of the iceberg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely horrifying. While I do not know for sure who the suspect is, I certainly have my suspicions. I can’t say for certain was around whom I suspect is the teacher in question this past year, but my child absolutely was in previous years. I am sick to my stomach. I have zero idea if my child was harmed and it’s made me feel helpless. My heart breaks for those who have been affected.

In previous post meant can’t say for certain if my child was around the potential suspect this year, but definitely was in previous years (if I assume who it is is correct)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This message is from a family of one of the victims to clarify what we believe has been misleading information by the temple.

Both the temple and law enforcement were informed on August 15 and August 16 of two separate allegations of potentially ongoing sexual abuse. Based upon what these two victims shared as to their experience, the names of 5 more children surfaced, each of whom may have been subjected to the same inappropriate conduct by the teacher in question. This confirms that there are at least 7 children who might have been harmed.

We are sharing this so that the temple's communication, which has not made explicitly clear that there is more than one known possible victim, does not mislead families to be unconcerned as to whether their child might have been impacted. Simply, this is potentially a more pervasive problem than has been suggested, and so all of us should demand transparency for our children's sake.

Thank you for sharing this. Sending love to your family and especially your child.