Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Ex-Glencoe Teacher Acknowledged By Board

GLENCOE, IL — After Glencoe District 35 administrators were contacted earlier this month by a former student who said he was sexual abused by a retired teacher, district staff acknowledged they are investigating the allegations at a board meeting Thursday and subsequently issued an open letter.

Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,

On July 17, 2017, District 35 was contacted by an adult, former student of Glencoe Schools in regard to allegations the student has made toward a teacher who retired from the Glencoe Schools in 1996. We are aware that this information is circulating through the community and we wanted to be sure you learned of this matter directly from the Glencoe Schools. The teacher who is the subject of these allegations no longer resides in Illinois. The Glencoe Schools were previously made aware of these allegations in relation to a 2012 investigation by Glencoe Public Safety. The Glencoe Schools cooperated with all requests from Glencoe Public Safety and the case was closed.

The allegations are of a sexual nature involving an incident or incidents which the former student alleges occurred at a private residence in the early 1970’s. We contacted Glencoe Public Safety regarding these allegations and we have been reviewing District records for evidence in support of these allegations. As of the date of this statement, the District has not been able to verify the allegations. Of course, should any evidence be discovered, the District will report such to Glencoe Public Safety. Likewise, District 35 stands ready to work with Glencoe Public Safety should we be asked to participate in any investigation they may conduct involving these allegations. We have also invited the former student to provide us with any additional information that may assist us with our review of the matter.

Furthermore, although these allegations do not indicate that anything occurred at our schools, we want to emphasize that District 35 is committed to protecting and ensuring the safety of our learning community and the well being of our students. The District conducts criminal background checks as a part of our pre-employment process. In addition, all faculty and staff participate in annual mandatory training regarding the parameters of appropriate conduct with minor students, as well as other topics related to recognizing signs of sexual abuse, and maintaining a safe school environment. All District faculty and staff members also affirm in writing their acknowledgement of a duty to report any abuse, neglect or other situations that could cause harm or present a danger to a student.

Parents, staff, or community members with questions about District 35's practices regarding such matters should contact Catherine Wang (wangc@glencoeschools.org). We encourage anyone with information regarding this matter or any criminal activity in Glencoe to contact Glencoe Public Safety at 847-835-4112.

As always, we thank you for your support and partnership.

Sincerely,
Catherine Wang, Superintendent
Gary Ruben, President
Melissa Estes, Vice President
Julie Ackerman
Marc Gale
Kelly Glauberman
Jean Hahn
Ashley Kain Silver

The allegations became public with a social media post from former Glencoe resident and District 35 student Dave Stroud. He alleged a former teacher, now 82 and living in Wisconsin, abused him and encouraged others with similar stories to come forward.

The accused teacher told the Glencoe Anchor he had no sexual contact with any of his students during his four decades as an educator and has no memory of Stroud.

At the District 35 board meeting on Thurday, Board President Gary Ruben said the district is attempting to figure out the facts openly and honestly, according to Pioneer Press.

"We are not pretending it didn't happen if it happened. But on the other hand, we don't know what happened so all we can do is look at our files and records and we are in the process of doing that," Ruben said.

Top photo: Central School in Glencoe | via Glencoe District 35