Healthy boundaries booklet (Dec. 2016)

December 2016

Emma Willard School’s Commitment to Safety, Respect, Well-Being and Leadership

Our Values From its inception in 1814, Emma Willard School has long championed the education of young women. True to our founder’s vision, we proudly foster in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world. Paramount and central to that mission continues to be the health, well-being and safety of our students as we educate and prepare them to become future leaders. This is as important now as ever and will never change.

Our Perspective on Past Incidents We acknowledge that there have been past incidents of sexual abuse at Emma Willard School and we feel grief and compassion for anyone who has suffered as a result. We regret that our entire community has had to come to terms with the painful recognition that these events occurred at our school. Most importantly, we have learned from this challenging and heartbreaking process and are resolute in continuing to learn from it. The school has re-examined and strengthened our policies, procedures and curricula. But we are committed to doing more. Emma Willard School is undertaking a major initiative in order to lead and change the conversation and the culture when it comes to sexual abuse at preparatory schools.

This is a deliberate, systematic and long-term commitment that we are making. As you will note in the following pages, we have already taken action and will continue to make progress over the coming months and years. We vow to keep our community informed along the way.

Our Commitments • Empower and provide abuse survivors with a safe forum to express themselves as well as provide recovery support and resources.

• Provide transparency in terms of historical cases of abuse at the school.

• Foster a culture of respect, safety and well-being at Emma Willard School where advances from an adult toward a student are not tolerated and no student suffers retaliation for reporting.

• Create open dialogue, awareness and prevention around the issue of sexual abuse. This includes working with both outside experts and members within our community including students, parents, faculty, staff and alumnae.

• Create and implement the appropriate, definitive policies, procedures and systems for preventing, reporting, investigating and handling cases of sexual abuse.

• Educate and train our community, including students, alumnae, faculty and staff, and incorporate this important topic into our curricula.

• Become a leader in helping other secondary schools to learn from our experience and teach students about the issue of sexual abuse.

• Create a reporting system that serves as a model and example for other preparatory schools.

Our Initiatives

Policies and Procedures New Sexual Harassment Policy – We have incorporated new procedures and protocols for reporting sexual abuse into Fine Print, the student handbook. The handbook is undergoing an additional update based on suggestions from task forces, committees, and community feedback. We will continue to update the handbook with a constant commitment to best practices. We have diligently collected examples of “Gold Standard” policies from our cohort schools.

Ensuring Dialogue and Understanding – We distributed hard copies of the new handbook to all students, who were required to meet with their advisors to discuss the policy and sign an acknowledgement sheet. Parents were also given copies of the handbook and the new version was uploaded to the school website. In September, we distributed 1,000 hard copies of the new Healthy Boundaries booklet to our students, parents, and employees. The booklet was made available online and we encouraged both our internal and external community to read it through social media and direct emails. We also addressed the topic of sexual abuse in the fall issue of Signature magazine in a four-page spread. The magazine is distributed to 11,000 recipients and is also available on our website. We have also created and are testing an anonymous, online suggestion box through a third party to ensure that anyone is able to report information in a confidential manner.

Revised Employee Handbook – The employee handbook was thoroughly revised this summer, incorporating many of the same procedures and protocols for reporting sexual abuse to found in Fine Print, plus additional adult-specific protocols. The new handbook was developed with student safety as a core principle with legal and expert advice. The employee handbook also includes very clear consequences if there is inappropriate contact with a student. The handbook will be reviewed annually at the start of each year and any updates will be shared with employees during faculty/staff meetings and via email.

Enhanced Code of Conduct – Our faculty and staff are currently working on an enhanced Code of Conduct called Healthy Boundaries Standards. These new standards provide additional clarity to the policies that are already in the employee handbook.

Partnership with the Culture of Respect – We have forged a partnership with Culture of Respect, and Emma Willard School will be the first secondary school to have this relationship with the well-regarded higher ed. program. With a campus visit on December 1, and our Core Leadership team in place, we are well-positioned to make huge progress in having this comprehensive program fully integrated into our Emma community.

Safety and Well-Being Dean of Students Role Expanded – We have updated the job description of the Dean of Students to include a focus on well-being. We assessed and expanded our curriculum to include a focus on sexual assault prevention education.

Updated Health Education Curriculum – The Healthy Relationships unit was expanded to include three weeks of discussion on sensitive and complex topics including appropriate ways of communicating; approaching difficult conversations; rights and responsibilities; discussions on sexual assault and domestic violence; and safety.

Acclimating and Initiating Ninth Grade Students to Health Center Staff – All freshman toured the health center this year to meet with all nurses and school psychologists to establish relationships with health professionals and facilities. All new incoming students also took the tour.

More Accessibility to Private Practitioners – In addition to our regular health care staff and a full time mental health counselor, a private practitioner dedicates one full day of her two weekly sessions at the school for private practice allowing students who need resources beyond school care. Students who need additional services can also meet with therapists off campus or use technology such as Skype to more easily connect with off campus practitioners.

Strengthened Education for Studnet Proctors and Peer Educators – We strengthened the focus of these groups so that they are comfortable with the existing support mechanisms including preparation on how to recognize and prevent sexual assault and misconduct, and how to report it.

Student Welfare Committee – The Committee meets twice weekly to discuss student and faculty issues. Members of the community are encouraged to bring students’ names or general issues forward for discussion through a general email swc@emmawillard.org. The Committee is convened by the Dean of Students and Wellbeing. Other members include: Academic Dean, Head of Enrollment Management, Director of Student Life, Head Nurse, School Counselor, and Coordinator of Learning Support. The information discussed at these meetings is brought to the Head of School and the entire Admin Team weekly.

Attendance Monitoring System – We carefully track students’ class attendance to ensure all students are accounted for using new technology called REACH. REACH allows us to monitor student activity both on or off campus as well as more efficiently and effectively manage travel and permissions. The use of technology has allowed this to occur per class meeting this year.

Security Enhancements 1. Two new full-time security guards have been hired, replacing multiple part-time shifts. We find that full-time guards have a deeper commitment to the school and the safety and security of our students.

2. The addition of a full-time receptionist has released our day guard to patrol the campus and monitor the safety of the community full time.

3. The 2016/2017 school year will see the implementation of card activated building access and a doubling of the number of cameras on campus. These new measures will make for an even safer and more secure campus for our students and employees.

4. The security team is working in close coordination with the Troy Police Department (TPD) to develop new lockdown protocols for campus.

5. The student life teams are working closely with the TPD to develop an active relationship with our community.

TPD representatives have visited with our senior students and are scheduled to return to visit with other students during several assemblies to discuss the process and the reporting of sexual assault.

6. Our existing practice of conducting multiple background checks on all hires has been expanded to include spouses and partners of employees on campus; it will include contractors and volunteers in the near future.

7. We will be establishing a new policy for visitors to campus with safety as a major focus. Highly visible visitor badges were created in November to clearly identify visitors on campus.

8. Emergency communications systems are being tested for the Emma community. In November, both the onand off-campus community practiced the initiation of a phone emergency notification to distribute urgent messages.

Accountability Pepper Hamilton Investigation – The school has hired leading law firm Pepper Hamilton to conduct an audit which will cover all sexual assault incidents at the school from any era. We will make available to the community the results of the audit upon its conclusion. In August, Pepper Hamilton investigators Leslie Gomez and Gina Maisto Smith hosted a webinar to explain the methodology behind the audit and answer questions from our community. This webinar was rebroadcast twice at a later date to give community members additional access to the content. In addition to being available by phone or email, Pepper Hamilton created an online reporting tool so that members of the community could anonymously provide information that is relative to the inquiry into past abuse at Emma Willard School.

Over the last few months, we have published approximately 50 different communications regarding Healthy Boundaries to encourage our community to contribute to the important Pepper Hamilton investigation.

Alumnae Advisory Task Force (AATF) – We have formed an AATF to review and provide guidance and/or recommendations on a) school policies and practices regarding sexual harassment and abuse; b) the employee and student handbooks; and c) attend and/or interact with the school’s administration, faculty and students to ask questions regarding these areas with the goal of improving the school. AATF will present a written summary of findings and recommendations to the Board of Trustees that will provide recommendations for further action.

We will also share these recommendations with the community. This group has already shared suggestions for our employee and student handbooks, and will continue to help the school in our Healthy Boundaries initiatives.

The Campus Core Leadership Team – Representatives made up of students, parents, faculty, and alumnae have been selected to look at the ongoing implementation of the Culture of Respect action plan on campus.

The established team is made up of 18 members of the Emma community. The appointed members include The Head of School, two senior administrators, five faculty members, two health care professionals, six students, one parent and one alumna.

emotional and mental health support for students on campus. The group will meet again in January with current students.

Education, Curricula, and Training NAIS Training (April 14) – Members of our administration team attended “Preventing and Investigating Educator Sexual Misconduct,” a training hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Attendees learned about and discussed topics including statistics on sexual abuse, signs to look for, strategies for minimizing opportunities in all situations and schools in particular, how to talk about abuse with children, and how to react responsibly.

NYC Council for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Seminar (July 20) – Chair of the Emma Willard School Board of Trustees and Interim Head of School met with Dr. Mary Pulido and Stephen Forrester to discuss a review of current sexual assault procedures, programs for students, and training for adults.

Sexual Misconduct Seminar (August 8/9) – Emma Willard School administrators and faculty, community advocates, lawyers, and law enforcement officers, along with attendees from other schools, took part in a two-day interactive training entitled, “The School Policy Institute on Cyber and Sexual Misconduct.” This seminar, hosted by Elmira College, focused on implementation of best practices dealing with campus safety and sexual misconduct for K-12 and higher education.

Activist Alumnae Discussions (August 10) – Our Director of Student Life and Dean of Students and Wellbeing met with recent graduate activists to discuss

Troy Police Department Meeting (August 16) – Key administration members, including the Head of School, met with detectives from the Troy Police Department to discuss abuse and misconduct reporting policies.

Mandatory Boundary Setting Training (August 23) – Members of our faculty and staff attended the training, “Living in Community with Children: Setting and Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries with Students” led by Linda Johnson, attorney and recognized authority on student and campus safety issues. That afternoon, Johnson met with a group of 30 visiting alumnae to discuss boundaries and the measures Emma Willard School is taking to train the community on these issues.

She also held dedicated training sessions with residential faculty and coaches, and spoke individually with alumnae.

Mandatory Education Session for Students (September 1) – This session was focused on school policies and procedures with special attention paid to the topic of sexual abuse. Students learned about our Safe Harbor policy and the sexual assault reporting policy. All faculty and advisors were in attendance for the session.

Student Town Halls (September 9, November 7, and ongoing) – We convened a Town Hall for all students to voice their feelings and thoughts on the topic of safety and school policies and procedures with a small group of administrators, faculty and staff. A series of Town Halls on this topic has continued throughout the year.

Mandatory Education Sessions for Faculty and Staff (August 24, September 28, and ongoing) – The August 24 session included a discussion

of school policies and procedures led by expert Linda Johnson. The September 28 session was a 60-day follow-up session for all employees, and mandatory online harassment training for new employees is to be completed by the first semester.

In January, all employees will be required to update their workplace harassment training and will also be required to complete a new training focused on the responsibility adult educators have to protect the well-being of minors.

The session focuses on best practices for preventing incidents of sexual misconduct and responding properly when allegations are made.

Troy Police Officer Training for Students (October 19 and ongoing) – Aaron Collington, a detective with the Troy Police Department, came to campus to help educate students on how to recognize and report sexual assault and misconduct, and how to be safe both in their physical surroundings and online. He led a closed session with senior students who said through a survey overwhelmingly they found the information helpful and requested future sessions. Detective Collington will continue to work with the senior class and will also be meeting with other grades throughout the year.

Parent Education – Emma Willard School parents were invited to a Healthy Boundaries seminar during October’s Parent Days led by Laurie Reynolds, our on-campus psychologist. The new Healthy Boundaries booklet was distributed throughout the weekend. It is important for parents to be educated on this topic so that they can support their daughters in the present and future. Past parent education has included safe use of social media and research tools.

Parent Relations – The school has appointed a senior administrator to oversee current parent relations and engagement. The Head of Enrollment

Management is a main point of contact for parents to express concerns and voice opinions on issues not pertaining to academics. Parents also use the school’s strong advisor system. The Head of Enrollment Management is an instant responder and supports parents through their transition to the school and throughout their daughters’ time at Emma Willard School.

Admissions Staff Training – The Admissions team has been fully briefed and trained to respond to all prospective families and inquiries. The team understands the culture of the school and the myriad ways in which girls are educated about healthy boundaries. The team will effectively convey the safe practices of the school to prospective families. In addition, all tour guides have an understanding of the importance of strong communication with the admissions teams and will relay any concerns if raised on a tour. This will allow the team to better understand the safety needs and concerns of families seeking boarding school.

Alumnae Education - Alumnae play an important role in the success of our commitments to open dialogue, education, awareness, and prevention.

Thoughtful engagement with alumnae builds a stronger alumnae network, which strengthens our ability to support the school’s mission. We engage with our alumnae both on and off campus in many formal and informal settings and through diverse communications channels. The Advancement team, and all faculty and staff participants in alumnae events, have been fully briefed to respond to questions and to offer pathways for further dialogue and education. Training includes how to address concerns of past sexual abuse and current policies and procedures.

Alumnae have 24/7 access through alumnae@emmawillard.org and 1-866833-1814 to express concerns and ideas,

and to request information. Members of the Alumnae Association Council are encouraged to engage alumnae and students across a variety of programs.

The Emma Willard School Board of trustees met with the Alumnae Advisory Task Force and the Alumnae Association Council over the course of the board weekend in October to hear feedback and address concerns regarding the school’s initiative and response to past sexual abuse. The Head of School and the Chair of the Board met personally in October with the AAC members for a 2-hour Q&A.

Other Resources Healthy Boundaries Resources – We have established a section of our website that is dedicated to information, resources and updates pertaining to safety and well-being on campus.

We continuously update this section which can be accessed at: http://www. emmawillard.org/healthyboundaries.

Notifications for Healthy Boundaries updates are made in our weekly e-newsletter, on our social media channels, and through direct email.

Pepper Hamilton Anonymous Reporting Tool – An anonymous online inquiry tool (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ Review_EWS) has been established to allow anyone in our community to anonymously report abuse to the Pepper Hamilton investigators. This site has been created as part of Pepper Hamilton’s external review of historical incidents of abuse. Information submitted to Pepper Hamilton will be reviewed and considered as part of its review. It is not intended to be used to report concerns about current incidents or suspected

abuse of a current student. Any concerns about current incidents can be reported directly to law enforcement or child protective services, or to the School, who will help make the external report. Any information submitted online that raises a possible concern of current abuse will be shared by Pepper Hamilton with the appropriate authorities consistent with New York law.

Residential Faculty Programming – Residential faculty has all had mandatory Healthy Boundaries training in addition to their regularly scheduled training. The team is a dedicated group of adults that are often the first line of support for our students. Residential faculty Evangeline Delgado and Danesha Jones have begun a series of open forums in the resident halls that offer a safe space for students who would like to discuss wellness and diversity.

Expanded Our Accessibility of Adults to Campus – Director of Student Life keeps an open table in the dining hall every week to make herself available to students who may want to discuss sensitive topics in a more casual, pressure-free setting. Counselor Mary Moore held an open door policy for the month of September for students who needed extra discussion following the announcements of past abuse at Emma Willard School. She continues to hold Mindfulness Mondays, open sessions for anyone in the Emma Willard School community to engage in mindful practices to promote well-being. Mary’s previous program, Chat and Chocolate, has evolved to be more focused; she allots extra time each week to meet with students who have self-identified to have mental health concerns who may need additional support.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Emma Willard School 285 Pawling Ave. Troy, NY 12180 518.833.1300 Emmawillard.org Lisa McGrath Head of Human Relations and Talent Management 518.833.1367 Dr. Susan R. Groesbeck Head of School Interim 518.833.1301 Leslie Gomez Cozen O’Connor 1650 Market Street One Liberty Place, Suite 2800 Philadelphia, PA 19103-2799 215-665-5546 lgomez@cozen.com Gina Maisto Smith Cozen O’Connor 1650 Market Street One Liberty Place, Suite 2800 Philadelphia, PA 19103-2799 215-665-5540 gmsmith@cozen.com Troy New York Police Department 55 State St. Troy, NY 12180 518.270.4411