Stratford, CT OKs abuse prevention program

By RICHARD WEIZEL, Connecticut Post

STRATFORD -- To stop sexual assaults of classmates by the school system's youngest students the Board of Education Monday unanimously approved a national program aimed at preventing sexual abuse and bullying.

The new policy was approved by the school board in the wake of allegations that a teacher failed to prevent an October 2006 bathroom incident between a 6-year-old boy and a male classmate accused of an earlier, undefined sexual assault.

The school board adopted the "Good Touch/Bad Touch" program that will train teachers, social workers and psychologists on ways to prevent sexual assaults, help to recognize danger signs in pupils potentially at risk of committing attacks and those who may be victims.

The program is used in 44 states, including area school systems such as Fairfield and Shelton.

School board members and administrators indicated the new policy is being put in place for students in pre-kindergarten through first grade in response to allegations over at least two incidents between 6-year-olds at Honeyspot House during the just-completed academic year, as well as other alleged incidents of sexual abuse in the school system.

Honeyspot House is the pre-kindergarten through third-grade section of Stratford Academy, a magnet elementary school. Supt. of Schools Irene Cornish said there already are programs for students in the upper grades that address sexual abuse and bullying.

"We are recommending the program after alleged incidents at Honeyspot

House and the overall increase of sexual assaults by students against other students," said Megan Clarke, director of the district's pupil personnel services.

Clarke told the school board Monday she would be using videos to train other school social workers and psychologists in the district.

"We plan to start the training in September and have the program in place by October," Clarke told the school board Monday night.

"This program has worked across the country, and we expect it will work here as well," said board member Robert Cody, chairman of the Curriculum Committee that recommended its implementation.

While Stratford Academy Principal Jack Lynch declined comment Monday on the sexual assault allegations by a 6-year-old first-grader at Honeyspot House, board Co-Chairman Tom Malloy didn't hesitate to address the issue.

"I think it's clear the system broke down along the way and the school board must ensure this doesn't happen again," Malloy said. "There's no denying that a teacher failed to carry out a plan to prevent something from happening a second time, and we can't make excuses."

Information in police reports shows that after the unidentified parents of the 6-year-old Honeyspot House boy complained in early October that their son had been sexually assaulted by a classmate in a bathroom, a second alleged assault by the same boy occurred just a week later.

A social worker for the state Department of Children and Families also indicated in a police report last Oct. 5 that she was "concerned because the school did not notify her what had happened promptly."

The social worker told police she was also "concerned about the boys being in the same class," and "wants to prevent any incident like this one from happening again."

But a week later something did happen again. Even after a new protocol was established by administrators to ensure the accused boy was not to be allowed in the bathroom with other boys, he was allowed in and was accused of sexual assault by the first victim and another boy.

The alleged attacker was supposed to be using a bathroom in the school nurse's office.

The parents of the alleged victim told police they spoke with Lynch and requested the accused boy be removed from school for more than just a few days. But the boy was returned to class after a brief evaluation.

Lynch said Monday he supports the new program because "it seems to have been successful in other places."

A second police report also states that during the second incident more than one boy accused the classmate of sexual assault, and that the first alleged victim claimed he had been attacked as many as 10 times.

"I categorically deny that there was any hesitation to report the incidents to the proper authorities, which was done promptly," Cornish angrily said Monday.

"There was never any attempt to cover up anything. We took the appropriate action we needed to take to ensure our pupils would be safe," she said.

(C) 1999-2007 MediaNews Group Newspapers ::