PSA - Sex abuse at Washington Hebrew

[Anonymous]

The school is being very cagey. There is no legal reason why they should not be sharing (a lot) more with parents.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have information about a parent meeting at WHC? Time, day? Thanks. And if anyone has any information to share about the incident or perpetrator, please share.

[Anonymous]

I spoke directly to the detective involved. They are not authorizing the school to release any further information at this time.

Furthermore I have never felt uninformed about my child at school. I actually felt very much in the know always. I think this depends on the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am expecting (going to demand) a lot of answers at the already scheduled parent meeting on Wednesday. At this point I just dont understand how we can feel comfortable sending our daughter here. She was there for summer camp when this happened. Unless they give us more information, it is really difficult thinking of sending her next week when school starts. I understand the school should theoretically be even more safe now after something like this happens and they will institute policies to make sure it doesn't happen again, but seriously how do you re-gain their trust?

DJ does not believe in reporting to parents what happens during the school day. This is a larger problem/culture of secrecy -- the school believes it's OK to keep parents in the dark re what is happening to their children during the day.

Yeah, I doubt sexual abuse is the reason for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school is being very cagey. There is no legal reason why they should not be sharing (a lot) more with parents.

Yes there is—privacy of the victims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is being very cagey. There is no legal reason why they should not be sharing (a lot) more with parents.

Yes there is—privacy of the victims.

There is a way to share more information without revealing the victims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

Doubt it. I don't think anyone is going to give you information on an ongoing investigation.

[Anonymous]

This is all very concerning as my child was there for camp and will be going to school there next week. A few questions that I feel could be answered without any violation of privacy:
1) did the alleged abuse involve male or female students?
2) did this happen during camp or previous school hours?
3) is this a male or female teacher and how long have they been employed at WHC ECC?

Does anyone know why the above was not shared?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

Doubt it. I don't think anyone is going to give you information on an ongoing investigation.

+1. That is a basic and clear cut FOIA exemption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

Doubt it. I don't think anyone is going to give you information on an ongoing investigation.

+1. That is a basic and clear cut FOIA exemption.

If the school has already placed the employee on admin leave, why does the school have to withhold information as to who it is? Honestly asking how that impedes an ongoing investigation? After what happened at LAMB, it seems more transparency with parents is the right course of action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

Doubt it. I don't think anyone is going to give you information on an ongoing investigation.

+1. That is a basic and clear cut FOIA exemption.

If the school has already placed the employee on admin leave, why does the school have to withhold information as to who it is? Honestly asking how that impedes an ongoing investigation? After what happened at LAMB, it seems more transparency with parents is the right course of action.

Those are two separate issues. I am not sure how that would necessarily impede the investigation, but I am not surprised an organization would accede to a law enforcement request not to share information at this time.

The direct issue was FOIA. And FOIA clearly exempt documents relating to an ongoing investigation from disclosure. The FOIA office would not parse out which parts of the information regarding the investigation could -- possibly -- be disclosed without harming the investigation. All docs relating to the ongoing investigation would simply be withheld and that would be proper under FOIA. (I am assuming DC FOIA doesn't have some odd wrinkle as I am more familiar with the federal FOIA rules.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the best way for current and former families of this school to find out if our children were ever in the presence of the accused employee? So little information is beyond concerning to parents who may need to (1) reconsider placement for preschool and more importantly (2) start some unimaginable conversations and therapy for young children.

You could issue a FOIA request for all investigative records between such and such date to the DC police department and send a copy of the request to Washington Hebrew. That will get them talking.

Doubt it. I don't think anyone is going to give you information on an ongoing investigation.

+1. That is a basic and clear cut FOIA exemption.

If the school has already placed the employee on admin leave, why does the school have to withhold information as to who it is? Honestly asking how that impedes an ongoing investigation? After what happened at LAMB, it seems more transparency with parents is the right course of action.

Would having this information change anything for you? Man or woman? Teacher or administration or custodial?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I spoke directly to the detective involved. They are not authorizing the school to release any further information at this time.

Furthermore I have never felt uninformed about my child at school. I actually felt very much in the know always. I think this depends on the teacher.

Second this about the detective. And I second this about eing teacher dependent. Some teachers are awesome about communication and good for you if you land in one of these classes. However if your child has a special need or request or if you face a problem with a teacher, it is my experience that you will receive a lot of hot air from DJ and nothing more. No action taken to care for the child, but rather to protect the teacher. How terrifying to think about that approach right now.

[Anonymous]

This is a horrible situation. Per the notice:

We are deeply troubled by the allegations and are addressing them utilizing internal and external resources. Likewise, we are working closely with the affected families to provide information, counseling, and support. We are also committed to ensuring that students returning to the ECC in the fall and their families know they will be in a safe and secure environment.

It appears that the families effected by this unfathomable situation have been notified and are being provided counseling and support. My thoughts and prayers are with those families. I believe that we will all receive detailed information about what happened shortly. We can all make individual conclusions at that time. There is nothing more important than the safety of our children. If we believed that our children were not safe, then we would not have sent them there in the first place.

Unfortunately, we’re not going to get immediate answers and we have to let the police do their job and await a response from the school.