Open Letter for the WKTimes
ARE THE STUDENTS IN KIRKWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFE?
As survivors of abuse and concerned community members, we want to make known actions that we believe the Kirkwood School District has failed to take to repair its legacy of sexual abuse. We have tried to get the district to hear us. Many schools reckoning with such a profound history of abuse would have already taken these steps over the past year, but if KSD has acted on these points, they have not demonstrated it to the community.
1. Name the 30 KSD staff members who were reported to Encompass Resolution and describe the abuse they allegedly perpetrated.
2. Clarify whether any of those reported staff members still work or volunteer in the district or with children.
3. Fire reported staff members and volunteers with substantial allegations of abuse and commit to doing so in the future. Ensure future employers know the reason the staff member was fired.
4. Publicly apologize to victims of abuse for the district's long history of cover-ups, abuse committed by staff, and placing the careers of abusers over the safety of students.
5. Engage in meaningful outreach and dialogue with victims and alumni, and inform alumni of the Encompass investigation, its findings, and the district's response, as five decades of documented abuses would suggest that many alumni are affected.
6. Inform alumni who were victimized about how to access counseling funded by the district, and explain what this counseling would consist of.
7. Release the full Encompass Resolution report as presented to the board.
8. Create an environment where it's safe for victims and whistleblowers to come forward without fear of retaliation. Cease to treat victims - rather than perpetrators - as threats to the district.
9. Communicate to the district's own employees and board to not negatively engage with or intimidate survivors and concerned community members.
10. Engage a fully independent investigative authority to oversee investigations for the ensuing years, rather than continuing to keep investigations in-house.
11. Commit to commissioning an independent investigation for victims who report in the future, as the scope of the problem indicates that more will come forward.
12. Fully update district policies and procedures to align with best practices as defined by experts in child sexual abuse and educator abuse.
13. Address student-perpetrated sexual harassment and assault as a comprehensive problem.
14. Rename sites currently named after those who committed or covered up abuse.
The systemic sexual abuse in Kirkwood School District is one of the largest revealed cases in K-12 schools in U.S. history, yet many questions remain unanswered. We ask that the district act on all of the above items in order to change the culture and finally see sexual abuse be eradicated in KSD.
If you also believe that action needs to be taken immediately to ensure that students are safe and to provide support to those abused, please contact Superintendent Dr. David Ulrich at KSDSuperintendent@kirkwoodschools.org or 314.213.6101 ext. 7801.
Signed:
Dorothy and Michael Ahearn
Joshua Albers
Meredith Albers
Debbie Krechel Aliperti
Natasha Hausler Banke
Michelle Birkla
Cecilia Bodet
Chris Boothby
Anne Brookes Brackens
Brian Carlson
Pat Ott Chance
Makenna Chappell
Maxwell Chappell
Thomas Crawford
Kristina Curnutt
Jennifer Day
Joan DePaepe
Carlow Doyle
Lori Ehrig
Nicole Ehrig
Stephanie Ellerbe
Libby Eversgerd
Matt Farrow
Mary and Mike Fitzgerald
Denise Francis
Dana Godfrey
Alice Laux Gregory
Korie Harris
Zach Hawkins
Laurie Evans Hayden
Sharon J. Hicks
Lauren Hilleren-Neuhaus
Don Howell III
April Jones
Timothy Jordan
Angela Kern
Emily Albers Kittle
Jennifer Kocher
Cherie Carlson Krauss
Lisa Lauman
Angie Tharp Layne
Diana Limpert
Emily Lind
Trent and Katie Litchfield
Laurel MacLaren
Holly Mandel
Stephanie McDonald
Alex McPherson
Gina and Pete Mikel
Langen Neubacher
Tanya Womack O'Connor
Anya Overmann
Erin and Bob Pappageorge
Francine Pappageorge
Katie Pappageorge and Renee Cohen
Parmela Plein
Karen Pollock
Terri Reifsteck
Amy Riley
Sara Swaty Roger
Ginny Ryan
Michelle Schengber
Anna F. Shallenberger
Grace McKone Shivka
Haden and Kathy Morris Smith
Sarah Swofford
Diana Tang
Andrea Taylor
Samantha Tharp Vaughn
Katherine Veazey Wagner
Betty Stockdale Weber
Clint Wing
Kayla Wing
Ginny Zawislak