When you watch the news on television or pick up a newspaper, it has become increasingly likely that you will see stories about inappropriate relationships between teachers and students.
Several of those relationships have been recently uncovered at local schools.
This week Beech Grove City Schools, in southeast Marion County, announced that Kevin Stephenson, a high school athletic director, had been placed on administrative leave after allegedly kissing a female student on the cheek. The student’s mother reported the incident to Beech Grove police, which is now conducting an investigation.
“We will diligently cooperate with the police department to investigate this report and will take all action necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our students,” Beech Grove Superintendent Paul Kaiser said in a statement.
Last month Corey Greenwood, vice principal and athletic director at George Washington Community High School, was arrested and charged with allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.
“He has been suspended, pending our internal investigation,” said Mary Louise Bewley, a spokesperson for Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS).
Last week it was revealed that another instructor, Melissa Jones, tried to persuade the student involved with Greenwood to delete text messages that would get him fired or make him lose custody of his son. Jones is also under suspension.
Dr. Vera Sonja Maass, an Indianapolis clinical psychologist, therapist and author of several books on relationships, said inappropriate school relationships are occurring in greater numbers.
“They are definitely becoming more common, due perhaps to more direct interaction between teachers and students,” said Maass. “People are also discovering and reporting them more frequently.”
In March, Larry Myers, a teacher at Heritage Christian School, resigned after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) began investigating allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old female student.
“We became aware of an improper situation, and immediately put Mr. Myers on leave, and during the investigation he announced his resignation,” said Ed Ingle, director of safety and security for Heritage Christian School. “We’ve been able to maintain privacy for the student, and she has been responding well to normal day to day school activities. We have also partnered with the family to let them know that we are here to support them.”
In November, Bruce Ryan, a science instructor at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, was charged with three counts of felony sexual misconduct with a student. Allegedly, their relationship began with romantic communication over the Internet over the summer and became physical during the school year.
At press time, the school had not returned calls requesting comment.
Although the reason for a relationship between a teacher and student depends on the specific situation, Maass offered several general explanations.
“Interaction is typically less formal than it used to be, especially in high schools,” she said. “If it occurs often, it can evolve into friendship and even romance.”
Maass added that relationships have also been made more likely by younger teachers closer in age to students, and vulnerabality, both by adults dealing with a difficult incident such as divorce, and students who seek from instructors and mentors the kind of special attention they don’t receive at home.
The growing number of sexual relationships between teachers and students has caused concern among administrators at public, private and parochial schools.
Many schools have implemented policies to prevent such incidents.
“We conduct extensive background checks, we check references and we certainly have policies in place for staff to make sure all interactions are appropriate,” said Bewley.
She noted, however, that such measures may be helpful, but they do not always keep an inappropriate relationship from occurring. An instructor with a clean background can unexpectedly be found in a comprising situation.
“You do the best you can by checking their history but you just never know when something like this will occur,” Bewley said.
She added that students are strongly encouraged to report any inappropriate behavior they encounter from school staff.
“Anytime a student feels that they have been dealt with inappropriately in any way, verbally or physically, they should talk to a trusted adult in the building,” Bewley said. “It is incumbent upon all employees in our district, as well as districts throughout Indiana, to report incidents to authorities if a child says they are uncomfortable because of something that is said to them or the way they were touched by someone.”
Ingle, of Heritage Christian, said the school has policies and procedures to make sure the staff connects with students in an appropriate way, including annual training programs and weekly staff meetings.
“We talk about issues such as putting yourself in the right situation, or how teachers avoiding being in a situation where maybe they’re one on one with a student of the opposite gender,” Ingle said.
Ingle added that Heritage Christian works closely with law enforcement, and being a parochial school, it has a moral code of conduct it imparts to staff.
“We talk consistently about what’s right and proper, which is something all schools should do,” he said. “It is important to determine whether an incident is due to a school’s policy failure, or simply an individual making a bad decision.”
