New Sidwell Scandal?

[Anonymous]

Are there really so few great teachers that a school like Sidwell can't immediately cast aside a resume from someone who was let go for such a thing????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We cannot, which is why it's wrong to conclude that what transpired was "in the judgment of a local prosecutor a non-criminal act".

From the Post article:

In November 1996, the case was classified “unfounded” by the investigating detective, who said that a review of the medical records, as well as the case file, showed no elements of any type of crime. The report states that the “Sexual Assault in a Position of Trust” statute would apply if there was evidence of “sexual contact” with the student.

[Anonymous]

PP - Looks like that was added to article after it was posted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

According to Sidwell's letter, the teacher admitted, when questioned by Sidwell, to "inappropriate touching" at the previous school. (But, correct, despite a report to local authorities no charges were filed).

Question in my mind is whether a teacher who so far as we know has been an upstanding school citizen for 20 years should be fired for what was (in the judgment of a local prosecutor) a non-criminal act that occurred 20+ years ago at a different school. I'm not sure the answer is obvious . . . although I suspect to insurance companies there is only one answer.

I agree. It is a shame, because this teacher otherwise has been a beloved member of the community with to my knowledge, a spotless record. But alas, liability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

According to Sidwell's letter, the teacher admitted, when questioned by Sidwell, to "inappropriate touching" at the previous school. (But, correct, despite a report to local authorities no charges were filed).

Question in my mind is whether a teacher who so far as we know has been an upstanding school citizen for 20 years should be fired for what was (in the judgment of a local prosecutor) a non-criminal act that occurred 20+ years ago at a different school. I'm not sure the answer is obvious . . . although I suspect to insurance companies there is only one answer.

I agree. It is a shame, because this teacher otherwise has been a beloved member of the community with to my knowledge, a spotless record. But alas, liability.

They all are. Remember Pete Peterson?

[Anonymous]

Pete Peterson didn't have a spotless record while at Sidwell. There is a difference.

[Anonymous]

Such a hard situation all around. It looks and sounds like Sidwell has leadership in place that is proactive and vigilant. The letter from the head was about one of the best pieces of communication I've ever read from a school. Awful set of circumstances but they are handling it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an alum who doesn't go overboard pro-SFS and am not sending my kids there; that said, I thought the email was lovely and proactive.

Lovely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pete Peterson didn't have a spotless record while at Sidwell. There is a difference.

How was his record not spotless -- until the criminal act was discovered? Our oldest was in 9th, I believe, when the story broke and, as I recall, everyone was gobsmacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an alum who doesn't go overboard pro-SFS and am not sending my kids there; that said, I thought the email was lovely and proactive.

Lovely?

The word "lovely" has become ubiquitous and meaningless.

This message courtesy of your friendly, local grammar police. Now, back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an alum who doesn't go overboard pro-SFS and am not sending my kids there; that said, I thought the email was lovely and proactive.

Lovely?

The word "lovely" has become ubiquitous and meaningless.

This message courtesy of your friendly, local grammar police. Now, back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

1) Grammatically, the use of "lovely" was correct, even if it was not appropriately used here.
2) There is no need for a hyphen between "regularly" and "scheduled" because there is no ambiguity that the adverb modifies the adjective.

I'm calling for a federal investigation of your grammar policing standards.

[Anonymous]

The teacher should not have been hired. There are certain actions that should prevent you from being alone with students - this is one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'll be the first one to point out that no charges were filed, the man proclaimed innocence and it's effectively his word against hers. And inappropriate touching can mean anything and especially lends itself to misunderstandings that may have had nothing to do with inappropriate touching.

In other words I am not jumping on the bandwagon of shouting abuse and proclaiming him an enemy who must be hunted down because, after all, THINK OF THE CHILDREN, just because of one girl said, without knowing anything else.

For the girl's sake and even his sake, I genuinely hope there was indeed inappropriate touching for there is nothing worse than an innocent man's life destroyed through spurious gossip and political correctness.

It said in the Post article that Sidwell hired him knowing "that he had resigned from that previous teaching position because he had engaged in inappropriate physical contact with a then-14-year-old female student." How does that not disqualify from you from a teaching position? That is troubling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'll be the first one to point out that no charges were filed, the man proclaimed innocence and it's effectively his word against hers. And inappropriate touching can mean anything and especially lends itself to misunderstandings that may have had nothing to do with inappropriate touching.

In other words I am not jumping on the bandwagon of shouting abuse and proclaiming him an enemy who must be hunted down because, after all, THINK OF THE CHILDREN, just because of one girl said, without knowing anything else.

For the girl's sake and even his sake, I genuinely hope there was indeed inappropriate touching for there is nothing worse than an innocent man's life destroyed through spurious gossip and political correctness.

It said in the Post article that Sidwell hired him knowing "that he had resigned from that previous teaching position because he had engaged in inappropriate physical contact with a then-14-year-old female student." How does that not disqualify from you from a teaching position? That is troubling.

Read the article and Bryan's letter (excerpted below) more carefully:

A former administrator, who left our School in 2003, was aware that Michael's departure from his previous employer had been precipitated by his inappropriate conduct, but had no knowledge of the severity of the allegations as they now stand. Regardless, the administrator knew that boundaries had been crossed and proceeded with the offer of employment. We are deeply troubled by this decision and apologize for this grave lapse in judgment. Knowledge of this incident should have unequivocally disqualified the candidate from being hired.

It is not easy to share this information, but honest communication is essential when it comes to protecting the safety of children. We therefore encourage all members of our community—students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni—to report any inappropriate conduct or sexual abuse involving a Sidwell Friends employee, past or present, directly to Bryan. The Board of Trustees will be briefed confidentially on all reports, and the School administration will forward information to the appropriate authorities, including law enforcement. The School is prepared to support victims, protect their privacy, and conduct necessary internal reviews."

Our hiring practices have improved substantially over the past 20 years. We believe our current protocols would prevent a recurrence of this incident, but Sidwell Friends has retained an expert in employment law to analyze our current practices and procedures. The expert will issue a report to the Board of Trustees for comment and review and will offer recommendations, which will be implemented promptly. An independent outside counsel is in the process of reviewing all personnel files to ensure that there is no additional information about which we should be aware."

This is a difficult situation. It makes you realize how complicated hiring is with respect to employment history. If you had asked at the time of hiring whether he was fired or ever arrested, the answer would have been an honest no. It seems like the only question that would get to the matter would be "have you ever been accused of inappropriate conduct with respect to a minor?" are you even allowed to ask something like that on a job application? it seems very complicated from an employment law perspective. and what sorts of questions are allowed to be asked of references?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'll be the first one to point out that no charges were filed, the man proclaimed innocence and it's effectively his word against hers. And inappropriate touching can mean anything and especially lends itself to misunderstandings that may have had nothing to do with inappropriate touching.

In other words I am not jumping on the bandwagon of shouting abuse and proclaiming him an enemy who must be hunted down because, after all, THINK OF THE CHILDREN, just because of one girl said, without knowing anything else.

For the girl's sake and even his sake, I genuinely hope there was indeed inappropriate touching for there is nothing worse than an innocent man's life destroyed through spurious gossip and political correctness.

It said in the Post article that Sidwell hired him knowing "that he had resigned from that previous teaching position because he had engaged in inappropriate physical contact with a then-14-year-old female student." How does that not disqualify from you from a teaching position? That is troubling.

Read the article and Bryan's letter (excerpted below) more carefully:

A former administrator, who left our School in 2003, was aware that Michael's departure from his previous employer had been precipitated by his inappropriate conduct, but had no knowledge of the severity of the allegations as they now stand. Regardless, the administrator knew that boundaries had been crossed and proceeded with the offer of employment. We are deeply troubled by this decision and apologize for this grave lapse in judgment. Knowledge of this incident should have unequivocally disqualified the candidate from being hired.

It is not easy to share this information, but honest communication is essential when it comes to protecting the safety of children. We therefore encourage all members of our community—students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni—to report any inappropriate conduct or sexual abuse involving a Sidwell Friends employee, past or present, directly to Bryan. The Board of Trustees will be briefed confidentially on all reports, and the School administration will forward information to the appropriate authorities, including law enforcement. The School is prepared to support victims, protect their privacy, and conduct necessary internal reviews."

Our hiring practices have improved substantially over the past 20 years. We believe our current protocols would prevent a recurrence of this incident, but Sidwell Friends has retained an expert in employment law to analyze our current practices and procedures. The expert will issue a report to the Board of Trustees for comment and review and will offer recommendations, which will be implemented promptly. An independent outside counsel is in the process of reviewing all personnel files to ensure that there is no additional information about which we should be aware."

This is a difficult situation. It makes you realize how complicated hiring is with respect to employment history. If you had asked at the time of hiring whether he was fired or ever arrested, the answer would have been an honest no. It seems like the only question that would get to the matter would be "have you ever been accused of inappropriate conduct with respect to a minor?" are you even allowed to ask something like that on a job application? it seems very complicated from an employment law perspective. and what sorts of questions are allowed to be asked of references?

Lovely letter? It seems like one of the main points of the letter is try to minimize the prior knowledge of the past administrator of the school. If there have been any incidents since his teacher was hired for his current job, the school's liability will be absolutely sky high, given the actual knowledge of the administrator. Seems like one of the main goals here is to try to find a way to minimize the past administrators knowledge. Hard to call that lovely. Instead, it reads like it was written by a good insurance defense lawyer.