Some Cheltenham families are anxious about the new school year that begins Aug. 31, because it feels like the last year, marked by uncertainty and pain for many, hasn’t ended.
After a 15-year-old football player was allegedly assaulted twice in the locker room last August and September, the community hung in limbo for months, with no punishments for anyone involved while district and county investigations rolled out.
Now, Cheltenham is heading into what would have been a fresh start just as a flurry of conclusions finally arrived: criminal charges for four coaches and six players, a grand jury report finding the district mishandled the assaults, and the superintendent’s resignation.
Five of those charged are set to appear at a preliminary hearing on Aug. 27.
“We are coming to school in the next three weeks. What is the the plan for the morale of all the kids that have been affected?” Francis Brown, the parent of a senior, asked at a school board meeting this week. “Should the seniors expect to come and sit on the lawn for Senior Sunrise and see news cameras in their face?”
Some families are afraid to say they’re from Cheltenham, residents said at Tuesday’s board meeting, which was the first public forum for the school community since the charges were brought.
“Half our parents don’t want to wear anything that says Cheltenham on it, because they’re embarrassed,” Shelley Gaither, the president of Cheltenham Elementary’s parent-teacher association, said at the board meeting. “Because they get asked questions, they get looked down upon.”
And the interim superintendent Chris McGinley, whose selection was announced at the meeting, will lead an administration that many families say has repeatedly failed to address safety concerns across grade levels.
This year’s staff may include three people referred to the Montgomery County grand jury report as Employee #1, #2, and #3, one of whom texted about dissuading the victim’s mother from visiting the school. Texts also downplayed the assault allegations, according to the grand jury report.
» READ MORE: Cheltenham is trying to move past its football scandal. Here’s what happens next.
The district has not answered questions about the status of the three employees.
Officials emailed parents on Aug. 13 that Vice Principal Mark Hoff — to whom the victim’s mother said she first reported the assault allegations — will be staying at the high school, instead of moving to Wyncote Elementary as planned, for continuity during a turbulent time.
The school board said Tuesday an outside attorney will be reviewing all safety policies and the board will review all sports programs in the district in the coming weeks.
The district has also enlisted the Bucks County Intermediate Unit to audit the human resources department, and Cheltenham is checking that all staff have current child abuse and criminal history clearances after the grand jury report found five of the coaches weren’t up to date last year.
But families are still worried what the school climate will be like in September.
“I asked [my kids] how they felt about going to school, and they’re nervous,” a member of the high school’s parent-teacher association said at the Tuesday meeting. “Not just for safety concerns, but for the environment of the school … My oldest said ‘I’m worried the teachers will be upset.’”
A coalition of parent groups presented a list of joint demands at the meeting that includes a town hall on school safety, first-day assemblies on sexual assault, hazing, and bullying by age group, and a community-wide survey assessing district leadership.
And the Saturday before schools starts, the Cheltenham African American Alliance plans to hold a “Together We Can Change Their Tomorrow” march at 8 a.m. from the administration building to the high school, President Ikysha Dearry announced Tuesday.
“We have to take back our power as people,” Dearry said. “We have kids who will be coming through these doors in the next two or three weeks.”
Staff writer Maddie Hanna contributed to this article.
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