Learning to stymie incidents in future

A lengthy narrative describing decades of sexual abuse at Horace Mann School is only one part of a recently launched project from graduates concerned about that legacy.

The other part focuses on what schools can do to prevent such abuse this from happening again. Activists launched the www.makingschoolsafe.com to share best practices and recommendations on protecting students.

The website outlines steps that any school can take to prevent sexual abuse. The measures include sexual abuse training for teachers and staff; age-appropriate sex education starting in the fourth grade; a clear and simple reporting process; and rigorous hiring standards with background checks, references from each past place of work and a discussion about sexual abuse in the interview.

“Speaking for myself, I’m very happy for anything that can be done to protect children in the future from having what happened to me happen to them,” said Joseph Cumming, an abuse survivor who has spent recent years advocating for change at his alma mater and other institutions. “We can’t go back and undo what was done to us, but I want with every fiber of my being to prevent this from happening in the future.”

Horace Mann released a statement about the report through Kekst and Company, the public relations firm that has handled the school’s responses to the abuse scandal. 

“We will closely read [the Horace Mann Action Coalition’s] report and make any appropriate adjustments in our child safety policies that it has to offer,” the statement reads. “Given the information previously shared with us by those survivors who felt comfortable meeting with the School, as well as our work with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, we are confident that our current policies and practices ensure a safe and secure environment for the students at Horace Mann School.”