The Straight Dope on DC Private School Scandals

[Anonymous]

The DC moms on this board pounce on any whiff of scandal and the threads soon evolve into back and forth between the school bashers and defenders. The school bashers are always “outraged” or “curious” or “surprised” or “disappointed” if not “shocked” that [insert topic de jour] occurred. The school defenders are always quick to minimize the scandal and deflect the topic and attack any accuser. If all else fails you can always take a shot at your favorite DC suburban private boys school: Landon, Bullis, Prep; which ALL DC moms despise.

As a longtime observer of this board and NW DC hierarchy, however, there is another way of looking at this. Of all the scandals that have been discussed on these boards one stands out as perhaps the greatest failure of institutional control in the history of U.S. education: the Eric Toth incident. Exaggeration you say? What else compares to this: child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list.

[Anonymous]

OP HERE

AND Let’s be honest, none of the “scandals” discussed here or even everything else combined compares to the Toth case. Yet it seems that since the Toth case came to light moms on the DCUM forums have been working overtime to elevate any other private school scandal to a high level. I think it’s pathetic, but I know it won’t stop.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding us? There many looonnnnggg threads on Toth and the cathedral schools when this broke. But it was a few years ago, so most people (unlike you) have moved on. They understand that scandal, but the facts are still unclear about this new scandal. What's so hard to understand about that?

Do you really think that every post on the Sidwell scandal thread needs a parenthetical ("but Toth was of course worse than Huntington!)? Sort of a ritual genuflection to the idea that Sidwell is still better than those other schools? And I have to ask, are you the poster insisting 40% of Sidwell kids this year are going to Ivies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The DC moms on this board pounce on any whiff of scandal and the threads soon evolve into back and forth between the school bashers and defenders. The school bashers are always “outraged” or “curious” or “surprised” or “disappointed” if not “shocked” that [insert topic de jour] occurred. The school defenders are always quick to minimize the scandal and deflect the topic and attack any accuser. If all else fails you can always take a shot at your favorite DC suburban private boys school: Landon, Bullis, Prep; which ALL DC moms despise.

As a longtime observer of this board and NW DC hierarchy, however, there is another way of looking at this. Of all the scandals that have been discussed on these boards one stands out as perhaps the greatest failure of institutional control in the history of U.S. education: the Eric Toth incident. Exaggeration you say? What else compares to this: child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list.

Bullis is not a boys school. It is coed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The DC moms on this board pounce on any whiff of scandal and the threads soon evolve into back and forth between the school bashers and defenders. The school bashers are always “outraged” or “curious” or “surprised” or “disappointed” if not “shocked” that [insert topic de jour] occurred. The school defenders are always quick to minimize the scandal and deflect the topic and attack any accuser. If all else fails you can always take a shot at your favorite DC suburban private boys school: Landon, Bullis, Prep; which ALL DC moms despise.

As a longtime observer of this board and NW DC hierarchy, however, there is another way of looking at this. Of all the scandals that have been discussed on these boards one stands out as perhaps the greatest failure of institutional control in the history of U.S. education: the Eric Toth incident. Exaggeration you say? What else compares to this: child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list.

I think you are looking for a fight. If you want to look at institutional failure, how about Penn State. The PP is correct. This issues has been discussed. What do you want people to do? Keep discussing it for the next ten years. Unfortunately, the other issues that come to light and bring attention.

[Anonymous]

How about we all stop discussing scandals (a truce) and focus on information that might be helpful to others?

[Anonymous]

Not to mention pedophile Scott Swirling, wealthy Montgomery County business leader. Everyone knows that no pedophile starts this kind of criminal career at age 62.

[Anonymous]

I thought the truce lasted all of three minutes, but it turns out that 13:48 is a troll that has been spamming the threads with his story.

Carry on.

[Anonymous]

Beauvoir basher felt left out from the Sidwell bashing.

Get a life.

[Anonymous]

B has changed its policies. Should they have been different all along ? Of course !

[Anonymous]

Toth affair is overblown

[Anonymous]

The tragedy of the Toth case is the recommendations from his former employers before being hired by Beauvoir and the glowing recommendations he would have had had he chosen to leave Beauvoir for employment elsewhere before being caught.

[Anonymous]

OP, Mommy? Daddy? I found you!

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, Mommy? Daddy? I found you!

I'm sur PP had something precious to share, but couldn't post it