In light of the recent news that former Eitz Chaim Schools teacher Stephen Joseph Schacter was charged with possession of child pornography, Jewish day school administrators in Toronto are assuring parents that they have strict policies in place to protect their students and properly address similar issues that may arise.
Schacter taught at Eitz Chaim between 1986 and 2004, worked as an office administrator and supply teacher at United Synagogue Day School (now Robbins Hebrew Academy) between 2005 and 2009, and was a private tutor from 2009 until 2011.
Speaking to The CJN about school policies to prevent and address incidents of abuse, administrators at Bialik Hebrew Day School, the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, and Netivot HaTorah Day School confirmed that all teachers and staff must undergo a criminal background check before they’re hired.
“We also thoroughly vet candidates by calling references,” said Shana Harris, Bialik’s head of school.
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Rabbi Jeffrey Rothman, Netivot’s head of school, said that “when it comes to new staff, we really do have a rigorous process where we screen them, we check their background formally with multiple references, we do a police check, the vulnerable sector screenings… Our bases are covered.”
TanenbaumCHAT head of school Rabbi Lee Buckman said that in addition to requiring a vulnerable sector police check for his staff, the school also has a relationship with police in Toronto and York Region, as well as Jewish Family & Child (JF&CS) in the event a situation arises that would require their intervention.
“Anytime something is suspected – whether it is happening in the home or in the classroom – we would immediately contact protective services. Those things are taken very seriously,” Rabbi Buckman said.
Rabbi Rothman said teachers at Netivot are trained to be “mandatory reporters.”
“To my knowledge there haven’t been any accusations here… without a doubt, any accusation would be taken seriously, and there is protocol to report to various administrators… The protocol would be that if the allegations were made and brought to an administrator, then it would be brought to the head of school… and then brought to JF&CS,” Rabbi Rothman said.
“Everyone’s challenge is finding the fine line. On one hand, you don’t want to jump and make the call the first second, and on the other hand, you don’t want to take too much time if, God forbid, something is going on. It would be a pretty quick process to figure out that we need to get JF&CS involved.”
Rabbi Buckman said that despite a school’s best efforts to prevent incidents from happening, it can’t always be avoided.
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“Even after you do a criminal background check of a new employee, people are people, and 10 years down the line, five years down the line, something bad can happen, and I believe we are not required and it’s not feasible to do ongoing criminal background checks. We do it as part of the screening process,” he said.
“It can happen in Reform schools, Conservative schools, Orthodox schools, public schools – people are people and they have been in good schools and they have been in bad schools… The most fundamental response is to create an environment at school where students feel they have someone to speak to. Thankfully, our guidance department, deans, principals, and teachers have created that type of environment.
“I think, whether it is with a teacher, a peer or a parent, we have to create an environment where victims feel they have a place to turn, and be heard, and taken seriously and that there is appropriate followup.”
