Employees across the district are being required to attend a new in-person training on preventing child sexual abuse through boundaries for staff, Director of Human Relations Kristin Stonehouse said.
The training is being offered in batches to all district employees between Oct. 31 and Jan. 29, Stonehouse said. This training comes with an anonymous staff-only form which allows them to report behaviors from other staff members that they deem inappropriate to HR, Stonehouse added.
“What we know about child sexual abuse is, it’s predictable and preventable,” Stonehouse said. “Behaviors that are commonly seen can be addressed, (and) can be reported.”
During his time working in the district, biology teacher Kenn Lewis has not attended a training similar to this one, he said. The training’s suggestion that there should be no one-on-one interactions between staff and students do not seem feasible, he added.
“Some of the things they were describing were kind of like middle school, but in high school, it’s different,” Lewis said. “There are times where kids need to come in and do something, especially in science class. You got labs, you can’t do the lab at home, can’t do the test at home either.”
He already implements policies that establish clear boundaries with students, and will continue to do so, Lewis said. Students come to his class during zero period to make up tests and labs, and he will accommodate his policies to match the district’s guidelines, Lewis added.
“When kids come in the morning, I’ll go over and open that door (connecting door in the L building) so that’s open,” Lewis said. “l’ll go out and talk to my colleagues so they can see (that) I’m in and out. I’m not just in here alone with the student non-stop.”
The boundary training encouraged teachers to regularly evaluate whether they had seen any suspicious behavior, Spanish teacher Teresita Romero said. The training also provided a phone number that teachers can call to self-report if they thought that they felt any attraction to a student, Romero added.
“It would be scary for a teacher because you’re raising your hand saying, I’m
a predator,” Romero said. “You might be attracted to somebody. You have to be the adult and get the help to turn that off, right?”
The suggestions made by the district regarding faculty reporting other faculty members were slightly uncomfortable, English Teacher Tonichi Lorenzana said. The parameters for what would be considered questionable are not clear cut due to Milpitas being such a tight-knit community, he added.
“Are there cases where, you know, that kind of closeness and connection is detrimental and unhealthy? Absolutely. But there’s also situations where it is completely community-oriented and not at all questionable, and deeply wholesome,” Lorenzana said. “I think the challenge that we face is that it’s not necessarily a one-size-fits-all situation.”
At the same time, the training provided useful information, Lorenzana said. Given the emphasis placed on the training, he expects more formal guidelines from the district soon, he added.
“I’d be kind of cautiously optimistic that what ends up as a result is a nice balance – trying to maintain the community atmosphere that we have as a district, while also recognizing that there are serious situations that need to be addressed and prevented in the future,” Lorenzana said.
Many of his colleagues already understand the boundaries suggested by the training, history teacher Paul Harrison said. He feels frustrated because he feels like there are no clear problematic cases pointed out by the administration, he added.
“It’s something I already know, and we learn, and so I guess I’m just wondering, where is the problem exactly?” said Harrison. “I mean, obviously there’s been some kind of issue here, but we’re kind of in the dark (about) exactly what the issue is, because there’s certain confidentiality, so it’s just really difficult.”
He and his colleagues want clearer guidelines from the district about what constitutes questionable behavior, Harrison said.
“Can you give us a hard line(…)? For example, I’ve asked the question, ‘If a teacher hugs a student, have they crossed a line?’” Harrison said. “I’ve never seen really clear guidelines.”
The ability for every staff member to attend this in-person training session is the main way the district is tackling this issue, Stonehouse said. All new hires that interact with students must also complete the training, she added.
“The students are our biggest priority,” Stonehouse said. “Your education, your safety, and your well-being are our biggest priority.”