The head of school and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the West Hartford private school advised the KO community in June that an investigation had begun, and on Monday another letter confirmed evidence that former faculty members had engaged in sexual relations with students.

Kingswood Oxford Alumni Hall with new banners. Photo courtesy of Kingswood Oxford

By Ronni Newton

Kingswood Oxford School said in a letter to the community Monday that an investigation has revealed that inappropriate sexual conduct between students and faculty during the 1970s and 1980s had taken place. None of the involved faculty members are currently employed at the school, the letter states.

KO opened an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct involving faculty in the 1970s and 1980s, as announced in a joint letter by Head of School Dennis Bisgaard and Board of Trustees Chairman I. Bradley Hoffman on June 17. On Monday, Bisgaard and Hoffman informed the community of the results of the investigation.

The investigation was conducted by local law firm Robinson & Cole LLP. The letter, dated Aug. 29, 2016, states, “A thorough investigation has taken place over the summer and has revealed credible evidence that some faculty members, who are not with the school, engaged in inappropriate relations with students during the ’70s and ’80s.”

Bisgaard and Hoffman apologized on behalf of the school for what was referred to as “a break in the essential bond of trust, respect and integrity between teacher and student that is the foundation of the School.”

KO is not naming any of the former faculty members, and stated that it is also believes it’s important to protect the privacy of the alumni who were involved in the inappropriate relationships. At the same time, the school is thankful to those who stepped forward to report the transgressions and believes that their courageous actions will ultimately make the community stronger.

According to an article by David Owens of the Hartford Courant, the initial investigation was prompted by an “unsigned letter distributed among Kingswood Oxford alumni that contained detailed allegations of misconduct, including the names of faculty members and in some cases the students with whom teachers and coaches engaged in sexual relationships.” According to that article, one faculty member was still a member of the KO staff in June 2016, but is no longer listed in the faculty directory. That information could not be independently confirmed by We-Ha.com.

Bisgaard could not be reached for comment by phone or email Monday evening.

In an interview in June when the investigation began, Bisgaard said anyone with information was asked to come forward. “Any allegation, no matter when it’s from, needs to be taken seriously,” he said on June 17. “We need to do the investigation, to figure it out, and take it seriously for the sake of the community.”

Even before the investigation began, KO said it had initiated a review of the school’s “policies and procedures related to hiring, monitoring, and reporting of suspected instances of sexual misconduct” the June 17 letter stated. That review was prompted by earlier reports of “heartbreaking and troubling reports about sexual abuse of students at private schools in the Northeast.”

New policies and required annual training for faculty and staff address appropriate boundaries with students, and mandated reporting. Comprehensive background checks, including “criminal, sex offender, drug, and reference checks,” are conducted on all new hires, and re-screening will take place every two years, according to the Aug. 29 letter. The same procedures apply to vendors and volunteers who have direct contact with students.

In Monday’s letter, Bisgaard and Hoffman reiterated to the community that safety and wellbeing of students is a top priority, and KO “will not tolerate any faculty or staff member harming or violating a student.”

“Kingswood Oxford School is a caring and nurturing community of which we can all be proud, an environment where our students are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Bisgaard and Hoffman wrote.

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