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Catlin apologized to parents in a letter it issued Wednesday. “It is clear that Catlin Gabel failed on multiple accounts -- in protecting students, in addressing the abuse, and in enacting change,” the school said in a letter to alumni and their families that was distributed Wednesday afternoon. “We profoundly apologize for the pain and suffering that these alumni endured. What happened is inexcusable.”
The inappropriate behavior dates back to the 1970s. The most recent case of known abuse, involving a teacher left unidentified in the new report, came this decade and resulted in the employee getting fired in 2016. None of the alleged perpetrators are still employed by Catlin Gabel.
The many, many instances of sexual abuse by so many educators would be shocking at any school. That is particularly true for Catlin, an elite private institution that has served generations of Portlanders.
Tuition is more than $34,000 a year and admission to the 775-student school is competitive. It enjoys a reputation as a solid, progressive institution.
Catlin Gabel’s board of trustees launched the investigation last October after a former student alleged on Facebook that she’d been abused by a Catlin teacher. The board hired Portland lawyer Lori Watson to conduct the probe.
Former students repeatedly told Watson the relationships between some Catlin teachers and students seemed unnaturally close. “Multiple individuals raised concerns about faculty members marrying students after they graduated,” the investigator said in the report. “Some stated that they believed the faculty-student relationships began while the students were still attending Catlin.”
It’s uncertain how complete the report is. Watson only interviewed self-identified victims who came forward to either the school or her. She didn’t engage in more proactive outreach out of concern of traumatizing victims a second time, the report states.
The report identifies just six of the proven or likely perpetrators by name. Watson and the Catlin Gabel administration decided they would identify alleged perpetrators only if there were multiple, credible first-hand accounts of abuse, an admission of guilt or supporting documentary evidence .
Scathing report outlines decades of sexual abuse, inadequate response, at Catlin Gabel private school
The inappropriate behavior dates back to the 1970s. The most recent case of known abuse, involving a teacher left unidentified in the new report, came this decade and resulted in the employee getting fired in 2016. None of the alleged perpetrators are still employed by Catlin Gabel.
The many, many instances of sexual abuse by so many educators would be shocking at any school. That is particularly true for Catlin, an elite private institution that has served generations of Portlanders.
Tuition is more than $34,000 a year and admission to the 775-student school is competitive. It enjoys a reputation as a solid, progressive institution.
Catlin Gabel’s board of trustees launched the investigation last October after a former student alleged on Facebook that she’d been abused by a Catlin teacher. The board hired Portland lawyer Lori Watson to conduct the probe.
Former students repeatedly told Watson the relationships between some Catlin teachers and students seemed unnaturally close. “Multiple individuals raised concerns about faculty members marrying students after they graduated,” the investigator said in the report. “Some stated that they believed the faculty-student relationships began while the students were still attending Catlin.”
It’s uncertain how complete the report is. Watson only interviewed self-identified victims who came forward to either the school or her. She didn’t engage in more proactive outreach out of concern of traumatizing victims a second time, the report states.
The report identifies just six of the proven or likely perpetrators by name. Watson and the Catlin Gabel administration decided they would identify alleged perpetrators only if there were multiple, credible first-hand accounts of abuse, an admission of guilt or supporting documentary evidence .
Scathing report outlines decades of sexual abuse, inadequate response, at Catlin Gabel private school
