WASHINGTON — Officials with Montgomery County Public Schools outlined additional resources for students and faculty members after social media posts continue to circulate about sexual assault and harassment claims within the district from students and alumni.
Last week, Instagram accounts began surfacing with anonymous submissions from students and alumni of over 12 schools within MCPS, including Thomas Wooten, Richard Montgomery and Albert Einstein. "Survivors at Wootton" and "Survivors at Einstein" are among those pages, with submissions recounting inappropriate behavior and remarks from peers to faculty members.
Other pages include the likes of "#MeTooAtMoCo" which names alleged abusers in post name and slideshows for resources to students. From sending unsolicited pictures to allegations of rape, the details can be graphic, with some accounts focusing on education towards victims and sharing.
In a letter sent home to families and students by Superintendent Jack R. Smith on July 2, the district plans to create additional support like additional hotlines and teacher trainings as well as investigating all the claims from social media posts.
Beyond the social media posts, some organizers have taken action in petitions. One petition that calls for MCPS to create a scheduling tool -- so survivors won't be in the same class as their abusers -- already has racked up over 16,100 signatures.
The school district already has mandatory training for sexual harassment, child abuse, and instruction to students on harassment and personal body safety in the past, said Smith. Those include requiring a mandatory cultural competency training for all staff to help ensure that students feel supported in classrooms and teachers have additional guidelines.
But Smith said on July 2 there is "more work to be done" with how the district responds to abuse claims, including thorough investigations into all the claims that have been posted on social media.
"As an immediate next step, I have asked our Director of Student Welfare and Compliance/Title IX Coordinator to lead a process -- involving all offices of our school system -- to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted into each viable report, and to take the necessary steps in response to what we find," the letter wrote. "I have also asked that we take a deep look into the culture that exists in our schools and how it may differ from the values we hold as a school system."
Separate incidents in Montgomery County in the past have shed light on sexual assault allegations within the District.
Earlier this year in February, three of the four victims from the October 2018 locker room sexual assaults at Damascus High School filed a civil lawsuit against the District, as well as two former Damascus administrators, and two former members of the high school's football coaching staff.
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The three junior varsity football players were sexually assaulted by at least five other teammates in the team locker room, leading to multiple players being charged with first-degree rape and making national headlines.
On January 17, the long-time program leader at Damascus Eric Wallich submitted his resignation citing family reasons in a lengthy personal social media post.
And in November 2019, a teacher at Magruder High School was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor and fourth-degree sex offense by a person in a position of authority.
Smith encouraged parents and students to report any concerning behavior and allegations regarding MCPS faculty to Office of Employee Engagement and Labor Relations at OCOO-EmployeeEngagement@mcpsmd.org, or to contact one of MCPS school psychologists.
There is also an anonymous tip line and reporting system students and parents can use to report threats at 1-833-MD-B-SAFE.
Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 if you need assistance. Help is confidential and free.