Miramonte School sex abuse scandal: Was replacing entire staff too extreme?
Students at the Miramonte School, which was rocked by allegations that two teachers sexually abused children, return to a newly staffed school Thursday. Some parents and education experts say L.A. overreacted.
A mother talks about what she describes as documented child abuse of her son, outside the Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles, Monday. The school has replaced all staff from the administration to the janitors. Some say it's an overreaction that paints everyone with the same brush.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Los Angeles
For children, the notion of going 鈥渂ack to school鈥� after a short hiatus ideally includes the sense of a return to a familiar environment.
But when students at the Miramonte Elementary School聽in South Los Angeles return to school Thursday after a two-day break, they will be reentering a scandal-rocked institution whose entire staff 鈥� from school head down to聽 janitors 鈥撀爃as been replaced.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) administrators ordered the dramatic move at one of the largest elementary schools in the district 鈥� it has more than 1,000 students 鈥� in response to an investigation that followed the arrests of two teachers accused of lewd acts against multiple children.
Outraged over the alleged sexual abuse, parents have demanded justice and accountability, and聽at least three lawsuits reportedly have been聽filed against the LAUSD,聽 the second largest school district in the nation.
But anger is also brewing against the district鈥檚 remedy, with some education experts and parents saying that jettisoning everyone is too extreme.
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Some 45 newly rehired聽teachers, drawn from a pool of recently laid-off LAUSD educators, face the聽unprecedented task of聽taking over the remainder of the school year聽with just two days of preparation. The school鈥檚 outgoing staff, who spent Tuesday and Wednesday briefing their replacements on lesson plans and packing their belongings, are being relocated to a school under construction where they will be interviewed and evaluated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an over-reaction,鈥� says Jack Jennings, founder and former CEO of the Center聽for Education Policy in Washington, of the top-to-bottom house-clearing. 鈥淚t paints聽everyone with the same brush,鈥� he says, adding that 鈥渢here聽should be a more聽sophisticated response in which the people responsible should be held accountable and those who aren鈥檛 should not be聽implicated or labeled by association as wrongdoers.鈥�
Situations involving children and sexual abuse are highly emotional, he notes, 鈥渟o you can understand being swept away.鈥� But, he points out that educators have a responsibility to display a calm,聽rational response.
鈥淵ou are dealing with young kids, and obviously聽there appear to be聽people who were guilty,聽but you hope you could have meetings where聽emotions聽get spent out聽and everyone rationally聽tries to decide on the best course of action rather than simply throw everyone out.鈥�
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy spent Monday meeting with聽teachers, parents, and then the press, where he explained that the investigation of such allegations would be disruptive and聽the staff would need support. He cautioned against stigmatizing the entire staff.
鈥淚 am outraged, disgusted,鈥� Mr. Deasy said, according to the local ABC affiliate.聽鈥淚 can鈥檛 have any more surprises at Miramonte, even though the police will do what they have to do. And if there are no more, thank God. We deal with the horror and the tragedy I have already. And if there are more, then we will have to deal with that.鈥�
Many聽parents who object to the decision are organizing a petition聽to fight it. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want all the teachers to be removed because there are some very good teachers and the students get good grades with those teachers,鈥� parent Armando Medel told KABC.
The strategy sets a bad example,聽says criminal defense attorney Christopher Leibig, who adds, 鈥淭his sets a very negative precedent in terms of workplace fairness.鈥� He says that the idea of one or two allegations resulting聽in an entire community being switched,聽鈥渓acks balance. I would hope that in the interest of justice聽this would not stand.鈥�
The need聽for the LAUSD to restore public confidence is extremely important, says Jolie Logan, CEO of Darkness to Light,聽a聽Charleston, S.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of child sexual abuse.聽But, she adds, creating a public forum for addressing the issue of child sexual abuse is also important, as it can help prevent future incidents.
[Editor's Note: The original version of this story reported that Darkness of Light was based in Washington, D.C.]
鈥淟AUSD would be wise to follow the lead of other school districts nationwide,鈥� she says via email,聽pointing to the South Carolina Department of Education, 鈥渨hich has pledged to train 100 percent of its teachers, administrators, staff, and workforce with specialized curriculum aimed at preventing child sexual abuse.鈥�
To date, she notes, more than 50 percent of South Carolina teachers and staff have completed the training.
鈥淟AUSD is yet another sordid example,鈥� she says,聽following the recent scandals at Penn聽State and聽Syracuse, where the details of the allegations got more coverage than the solutions offered to prevent future abuses.
鈥淧revention education is the only way to bring about systemic change to end such abuse,鈥� she says, adding that training 鈥渢akes one of society鈥檚 most difficult subjects and brings it to a public forum, encouraging public dialogue. The more adults know about prevention, the more we talk openly, the better we are all prepared to protect kids.鈥�