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2theadvocate.com | News | School for Deaf arrests prompt probe — Baton Rouge, LA
Education officials are hiring an outside consultant to assess the response by the Louisiana School for the Deaf to the arrests of five people on sex-related counts.
The state Department of Education plans “to engage a consultant to assist us in evaluating whether what we’re doing is adequate,” state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said at a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education committee meeting Wednesday.
Pastorek is considering hiring experts from Gallaudet University, the National Deaf Academy in Florida or the Center for Abuse Prevention and Education for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, said David Grubb, the department’s press secretary, said
The announcement came in the aftermath of the April 8 arrest of a 31-year-old youth minister, Joey Eugene Thomas, on a count of indecent behavior with a juvenile student of the school.
Four other people — three of them former or current teachers at the school — have been arrested on the same count since November.
Two girls, 14- and 16-year-old day students, were involved.
Following the arrests, the two girls received counseling, Pastorek said.
Teachers and staff have attended courses on the issues and have been directed to be alert.
Pastorek praised the leadership of Kenny David, the interim director of the school, and said the school has been vigilant in reporting incidents to authorities, even when the incidents occur off campus.
“Our people think we have done all that we could; I just want to make sure that we have,” Pastorek said.
He said he will defer to the consultant’s judgment on what, if any, issues need to be tackled.
“If they think there is some deeper problem, then we can explore that,” he said.
When reports of sexual activity and rapes among students surfaced in the late 1990s, then-state Education Superintendent Cecil Picard called for the formation of a 10-member task force.
That task force found fault with former school Superintendent Bill Prickett’s management style, but found little evidence of students’ sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday, Melissa Stevens said her 14-year-old son attended the school for five years before she grew overwhelmed by the problems and moved to Arkansas to enroll him this fall at that state’s school for the deaf.
She said she is pleased an outside party will be looking into the Louisiana school.
“Hopefully, it will do some good and shed some light on some things I think need to be brought to the forefront,” she said.
Deaf children are more susceptible to abuse than others, she said.
“These kids are more vulnerable. The majority of their parents are not active parts of their lives,” Stevens said.
“All they have are the school people — those are the people they get praise and encouragement and love from.”
The close-knit deaf community has been alarmed by the arrests.
Michael A. Mack, a 1986 graduate of the school, said Sunday he was disheartened by the arrests connected with his alma mater.
“In 1985, a teacher was arrested for having sex with a girl,” he said. “It seems we have not learned our lesson.”
Education officials are hiring an outside consultant to assess the response by the Louisiana School for the Deaf to the arrests of five people on sex-related counts.
The state Department of Education plans “to engage a consultant to assist us in evaluating whether what we’re doing is adequate,” state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said at a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education committee meeting Wednesday.
Pastorek is considering hiring experts from Gallaudet University, the National Deaf Academy in Florida or the Center for Abuse Prevention and Education for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, said David Grubb, the department’s press secretary, said
The announcement came in the aftermath of the April 8 arrest of a 31-year-old youth minister, Joey Eugene Thomas, on a count of indecent behavior with a juvenile student of the school.
Four other people — three of them former or current teachers at the school — have been arrested on the same count since November.
Two girls, 14- and 16-year-old day students, were involved.
Following the arrests, the two girls received counseling, Pastorek said.
Teachers and staff have attended courses on the issues and have been directed to be alert.
Pastorek praised the leadership of Kenny David, the interim director of the school, and said the school has been vigilant in reporting incidents to authorities, even when the incidents occur off campus.
“Our people think we have done all that we could; I just want to make sure that we have,” Pastorek said.
He said he will defer to the consultant’s judgment on what, if any, issues need to be tackled.
“If they think there is some deeper problem, then we can explore that,” he said.
When reports of sexual activity and rapes among students surfaced in the late 1990s, then-state Education Superintendent Cecil Picard called for the formation of a 10-member task force.
That task force found fault with former school Superintendent Bill Prickett’s management style, but found little evidence of students’ sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday, Melissa Stevens said her 14-year-old son attended the school for five years before she grew overwhelmed by the problems and moved to Arkansas to enroll him this fall at that state’s school for the deaf.
She said she is pleased an outside party will be looking into the Louisiana school.
“Hopefully, it will do some good and shed some light on some things I think need to be brought to the forefront,” she said.
Deaf children are more susceptible to abuse than others, she said.
“These kids are more vulnerable. The majority of their parents are not active parts of their lives,” Stevens said.
“All they have are the school people — those are the people they get praise and encouragement and love from.”
The close-knit deaf community has been alarmed by the arrests.
Michael A. Mack, a 1986 graduate of the school, said Sunday he was disheartened by the arrests connected with his alma mater.
“In 1985, a teacher was arrested for having sex with a girl,” he said. “It seems we have not learned our lesson.”