Just getting ready for it....
"More abuse allegations brought against ex-Deerfield teacher" by Jonathan Saltzman Globe Staff January 26, 2016
A former student at Deerfield Academy in western Massachusetts filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging he was sexually abused decades ago by a math teacher who was the focus of a 2013 investigation into misconduct allegations.
It hits close to home. I worked a wedding there once.
Moss Krivin, 50, of Los Angeles, alleges that Peter Hindle raped him in 1979 when he was 14 years old after the teacher invited him to his residence on campus. Hindle, who also served as a dorm master at the elite boarding school, allegedly told the student to keep the episode a secret or he would be punished.
I suppose it is no surprise now.
Krivin’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian of Boston, said that his client’s life spiraled out of control afterward, and that he left Deerfield following his second year. Krivin has struggled with depression, suicidal thoughts, and panic attacks but came forward after other allegations against Hindle surfaced in 2013.
Krivin was a New York native whose surname was Steinberg when he attended Deerfield. He later took his mother’s maiden name.
Hindle, who taught at Deerfield from 1956 to 2000, said he vaguely recalled Steinberg but had no memory of the student ever visiting his residence, much less having sexual contact with him. “This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,’’ said Hindle, 81, of Dartmouth.
Following a 2013 investigation by a law firm it had hired, Deerfield wrote the school community that Hindle had admitted to sexual contact with a student. The school also wrote that a second student alleged that Hindle had engaged in inappropriate behavior with him in the 1980s. Krivin was neither of those students.
David Thiel, a Deerfield spokesman, said Tuesday that school officials could not comment on Krivin’s lawsuit. But he said officials have taken steps to prevent sexual abuse on campus by bolstering training and policies and by providing more information to students and to employees in the handbooks they receive.
Krivin entered the school in 1979 as as freshman. That year, he alleged, Hindle invited him to his residence, where the teacher fondled him, performed oral sex on him, and then raped him.
I'm going to have nightmares.
After Krivin heard about allegations against Hindle a few years ago, he reported the episode to the Northwestern district attorney’s office, but the statute of limitations for prosecution had expired.
District Attorney David E. Sullivan said in a statement Thursday that there was substantial credible evidence of improper sexual contact by Hindle with students decades ago.
“During this era, it is clear that Deefield Academy had few if any safeguards for protecting youth from its most trusted adults, their teachers,’’ Sullivan said.
Yes, the whole elite class is rife with sexual abuse.
Garabedian represented another unnamed former student who alleged that Hindle molested him at Deerfield in the late 1980s. That matter, which didn’t result in a lawsuit, was settled out of court for $350,000, Garabedian said.
Deerfield has also concluded that there was sufficient evidence to say that another faculty member, Bryce Lambert, was alleged to have had inappropriate sexual contact with students, according to the letter to the school community. Lambert is now deceased.
Another former Deerfield student, Christopher Obetz, alleged in a federal suit in Connecticut last year that Hindle and another school official negligently supervised Lambert in the 1980s, enabling Lambert to sexually abuse him.
Obetz alleged that Lambert abused him numerous times on school trips for golf and squash matches against other prep schools around New England and New York state.
That suit recently settled out of court for $500,000, according to Garabedian, who represented Obetz....
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Also see:
DA Deviants
DA Soccer Coach Played Handball With Sheppard
DA Sex Abuse Charge Dug Out of Grave
Happened during summer school?
Good thing that doesn't happen elsewhere out here:
"5 at Berkshires special needs school charged with abuse" by Ella Torres and Steve Annear Globe Correspondent | Globe Staff February 01, 2016
Four men and a woman were arrested in connection with an investigation into allegations of physical and emotional abuse of students at Eagleton School, a private special needs school for boys and young men in Great Barrington.
All five of those arrested were staffers at the school in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts.
The Eagleton School is a residential school for students aged 9 to 22 who have autism, Asperger syndrome, and other cognitive disabilities. It is on 40 acres in the Berkshire Mountains....
Just when you think things can't get worse.
These victims are helpless, and I suppose that makes them all the more attractive to sick predators.
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Thankfully it's only a one-off, right?
"Holyoke school abused disabled children, report says" by Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff December 09, 2015
A Holyoke public school program that serves emotionally disabled children subjected them to psychological abuse and used excessive force to punish even trivial offenses, according to an investigative report released Wednesday.
:-(
Disabled students in fourth through eighth grades at the Peck School were forced to the floor and immobilized, restrained for long periods, slammed into walls, and slapped by staff members, according to findings by the Disability Law Center, which investigated the school for the state.
The abuses are among the worst ever uncovered by the center, said Stanley J. Eichner, litigation director for the independent Boston-based group, which is empowered by the federal government to protect the disabled.
“Excessive force was used against them in a school that has been set up to address these needs,” Eichner said in an interview. “Pretty much to a person, these are students with emotional disabilities who have previously witnessed trauma or been traumatized at one time or another.”
Another legacy of Deval's neglect, but beyond the blame is the stark destruction of the Massachusetts myth.
The investigation uncovered a school culture in which aggressive discipline of students had become ingrained, Eichner said. Many students suffered injuries, including scratches and bruises, and one student was given a hospital exam for a bump on the head.
Preparing them for prison?
Shortly after the Disability Law Center received a complaint about the program in the spring, the school district was placed under state receivership for chronic underperformance. That move was not related to the allegations of abuse in the Therapeutic Intervention Program, which serves about 50 students at the Peck School.
Stephen Zrike Jr., the state-appointed schools receiver in Holyoke, said “these findings constitute abuse and neglect under federal protection and advocacy statutes.”
Zrike said he had heard concerns about the program during meetings with parents, students, and staff in Holyoke this year.
The district is making changes to the Peck School program, including naming an acting principal and hiring five new teachers, according to Eichner. The Disability Law Center, which will monitor the program, stated in its report that “we continue to have concerns about the extent of the abuse and neglect we found.”
Michael Moriarty, a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and a longtime education advocate from Holyoke, said he first heard of the allegations Wednesday afternoon.
“I expect that this is going to be addressed aggressively and transparently to the board, the residents of Holyoke, and especially the parents of these kids,” Moriarty said. “What you read in this report is horrifying.”
Some might even call it.... (gasp).... TORTURE!
The Disability Law Center’s investigators found that every student had an emotional disability, many with post-traumatic stress disorder. Children who entered the program had been exposed to extreme violence, as well as physical and sexual abuse, the center discovered.
The school did not report the restraints or their related injuries to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as required by law.
Weren't there problems at Bridgewater regarding a few of these cases, where like the kids actually died?
Eichner, of the Disability Law Center, said a combination of factors appears to have led to the abuse.
“Holyoke is an underserved district, obviously,” he said. “We think there wasn’t enough resources and not enough training, and this population is predominantly students of color. You combine that with students with emotional issues, and without adequate resources and training it becomes a power fight between the teachers and students.”
This is going to keep me up at night. It so clashes with what I've been taught and told about my home state and the institution of education.
The allegations surfaced during the tenure of former Holyoke superintendent Sergio Paez, who lost his job after Massachusetts education officials voted in April to place the district under state control.
He then got out of town.
On Monday, the Minneapolis school board voted to appoint Paez as that city’s next school superintendent. Members of the board did not respond to requests from the Globe to comment on whether the allegations would affect his hiring....
See:
Former Holyoke superintendent defends handling of abuse allegations
Ex-Holyoke schools chief defends handling of inquiry
Minneapolis delays talks with ex-Holyoke superintendent
Ex-Holyoke school chief loses bid for Minn. job
That answer the question for you?
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"Whistleblower, parents describe abuses in program for disabled students" by Jeremy C. Fox and Maria Cramer Globe Staff December 11, 2015
Liza Hirsch began work at the Peck Full Service Community School in Holyoke last fall, excited by its model of involving families and community partners in learning.
She found instead a toxic environment where children with emotional and behavioral disabilities were berated, physically restrained — even hauled away in handcuffs by police, she said Thursday.
Within six months, Hirsch had quit her job and become a whistle-blower, documenting abuses that drove two separate investigations, led to policy changes, and threaten to torpedo the job prospects of the Western Massachusetts city’s former school superintendent.
The allegations about the school, which serves fourth- through eighth-graders, came to light Wednesday with the release of a disturbing report from the Disability Law Center, a nonprofit group authorized by the state to investigate abuse against people with disabilities.
Most of the alleged physical abuse was inflicted upon children in the school’s Therapeutic Intervention Program for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities by staff members responsible for calming children who act out. But too often, they escalate conflicts through harsh language and rough contact, parents told the Globe....
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Related: A full investigation needed in Holyoke
Their command is the state's wish.
"Amid Holyoke allegations, new rules for handling unruly students" by Jeremy C. Fox Globe Staff December 25, 2015
Regulations that take effect Jan. 1 will limit how children can be physically restrained in Massachusetts public schools, at a time when alleged violations at a Holyoke school have shined a spotlight on the use of force to control unruly students.
Been a lot of that in AmeriKan society lately.
The new rules, approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education late last year, are the first update to state policies on the use of restraint since 2001.
The regulations will add restrictions on how unruly students can be held down for their protection, and bar the use of devices or medication to subdue an agitated child — two tactics that previously were permitted with the consent of a parent and a doctor.
The rules also require for the first time that students assigned a “time out” to calm down be continuously monitored by school staff and that principals grant approval for any “time out” lasting longer than 30 minutes. In addition, principals must approve restraints lasting longer than 20 minutes.
Most students who are subjected to physical restraint are children and teens with behavioral or emotional disabilities. Advocates are lauding the upcoming changes....
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Look who is also coming to the rescue:
"Millions in state, federal dollars directed to affordable housing" by Joshua Miller Globe Staff September 15, 2015
HOLYOKE — Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday awarded millions of dollars of state money and federal tax credits to spur the development and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing across Massachusetts.
Speaking at the 167-unit Lyman Terrace in Holyoke, which dates to around 1940 and which a state press release characterized as “a troubled family public housing project,” Baker emphasized the importance of maintaining and expanding affordable housing in Massachusetts.
Under a hot sun, the governor told about 100 local officials, residents, and reporters that it’s important to renovate places such as Lyman Terrace and give residents “the kind of home and small community they can take pride in.”
The restoration of Lyman Terrace was one of about two dozen projects from Boston to Cape Cod to Western Massachusetts awarded funds Tuesday.
The effort to upgrade the housing project — revitalizing squat red-brick buildings, long a target for demolition or rehabilitation — was awarded $3 million in state money and more than $2.8 million in state and federal tax credits, a state spokeswoman said. Residents told the Globe Tuesday that the condition of units is poor and rehabilitation is sorely needed.
It's no Bo$ton, that's for sure.
Well, it might be like certain sections of Boston, though.
In total, the state awarded $29.2 million in federal and state tax credits along with $45.8 million in mostly state funding, Massachusetts’ housing officials said. The projects awarded funding Tuesday represent 1,484 total housing units, including 1,119 affordable units, said Chrystal Kornegay, undersecretary of Housing and Community Development.
The tax credits essentially give developers an incentive to build affordable housing.
Sometimes they don't even need 'em, but you know.... such is the luxury market.
In the context of Tuesday’s announcement, this means rents will be affordable to people earning below 60 percent of area median income, a state spokeswoman said.
Which means way poor!
Baker said Tuesday’s announcement is an extension of what has been done before. But he emphasized that finding an affordable place to live is a huge problem in many parts of the state, and indicated that efforts at paving the way for more reasonably priced housing will be a priority.
Still, for people in this part of Holyoke, the announcement was new....
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Related:
"Police say man’s death was an accident" by Laura Crimaldi Globe Staff September 25, 2015
A man in his 50s was killed Friday morning after being run over by a trailer of donated goods that he had been sleeping under in the parking lot of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries in Roxbury, Boston police said.
“It’s pretty clear that it was just a tragic accident,” Police Superintendent Bernie O’Rourke told reporters.
**********************
Paul Ancillo, 38, and Toni Katsikas, 29, said they have been sleeping outside on Goodwill property for the past six months and knew the victim.
They said the man usually sleeps under the trailer with his girlfriend. The couple, Katsikas said, would put down cardboard and use donated items left in the trailer to create a makeshift bed.
“I feel horrible that that happened here,” Katsikas said. “Being out here homeless, we’re suffering already, and to die like that, nobody deserves that.”
Ancillo and Katsikas said they did not sleep on Goodwill property Thursday night because they had been asked by a staffer not to stay there. The couple said they slept across the street instead.
“We all could have been under there,” Katsikas said.
The parking lot is located near Boston Medical Center, the Woods-Mullen Shelter, and other treatment providers that offer services to the homeless and drug addicts.
But couples like the victim and his girlfriend sometimes prefer to stay away from homeless shelters because they are separated when they seek services there, Ancillo said.
“That’s one of the main reasons I think that he won’t sleep in the shelter, because he won’t sleep without his [girlfriend],” he said.
Pine Street Inn spokeswoman Barbara Trevisan said the homeless are more vulnerable when they refuse to go into a shelter.
“The fact is there are places in the area where they could go to get some assistance,” she said.
Once again, their own fault!
Dammit, they are the victims!
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What is not so new in Holyoke:
Holyoke man indicted in fatal shooting
Early morning Holyoke crash kills two
Time for prayers....
"‘Systemic failure’ led to abuses in Holyoke school" by Jeremy C. Fox Globe Staff February 16, 2016
Students with behavioral and emotional disabilities at a Holyoke school were physically restrained more than 200 times last year, the result of a “systemic failure” by staff and senior administrators that led to repeated, improper uses of excessive force, according to a state report issued Tuesday.
The state report was issued two months after a nonprofit group, the Disability Law Center, said in its own alarming inquiry that some students at the school were slapped, tackled, and yanked out of chairs for refusing to stand.
The state report does not address such allegations of overt child abuse, and it does not identify specific administrators or staff who acted inappropriately or failed to act.
The new report, however, provides fresh details about actions at the school....
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