Kevin Sporici ‘20
Noble Brigham ‘20
Earlier this year, the state of Pennsylvania shut down Glen Mills Schools due to allegations that surfaced about multiple cases of student abuse by the school’s counselors. Some students at this all-male reform school were allegedly severely beaten and threatened with longer sentences if they did not remain quiet. Episcopal’s only connection to the school is through the EA golf team, which has played on their well known course, but the dramatic closing of the school was widely publicized.
The institution is the oldest reform school in the United States, dating back to 1826, and until March, 2019, it housed juvenile delinquents from around the country. What began as an investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer into claims of abuse ended with the school’s license being revoked by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in early April.
The Acting Executive Director, Christopher Spriggs, the first black head of the institution, has worked at the school for 25 years as a counselor, teacher and head of regulatory compliance. He describes the feeling on campus after the attention: “As a whole, the organization didn’t feel as if the actions of a small percentage of our staffing population warranted the type of negative coverage it received and the type of action that came by way of the Department of Human Services
Since its shutdown, Glen Mills Schools has been making changes to its policy and its administration in an effort to reopen their doors for students. The most significant changes come in the form of new discipline practices and a new behavior management program. However, they still need to appeal the DHS’ license revocation and emergency youth removal order.
Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, gave his view on the role of discipline in the context of EA. “There are clear lines. You can never physically touch a student or threaten them verbally or emotionally. The intention can never be to harm the student in any scenario. Of course, you need clear distinctions regarding behavior and consequences. For example, the first major disciplinary offense is meant to be a restorative and educational process, not a punitive one. It is different for those who make the same types of mistakes a second time.” He continues, “You have to go to the core of why you have [a] rule in place, whatever that rule may be…If student behavior and expectations are not clearly articulated, then you will not have much success.”
Glen Mills is taking new measures to reform flawed policies in hope of creating a safer and more balanced environment. Spriggs says, “First and foremost, my main goal is to protect the safety and security of every student that comes through our doors…we’re looking to implement a new program model that’s centered around a trauma informed approach.”
To that end, they have announced a partnership with Ukeru Systems, a behavior management program. It is described on Glen Mills’ website as being “rooted in the belief that the use of physical restraints is unproductive, and that behavioral and educational interventions should start with the premise of comfort vs. control.” Ukeru’s own website states that training focuses on using various forms of verbal and non-verbal communication as well as “Managing and de-escalating conflict by converting/diverting an aggressive [individual].”
Spriggs states, “We know that we will be under the microscope when we reopen, and we are fully aware of that and we welcome it…what [people] will see moving forward is a program that is designed to address the trauma that the youth have experienced prior to coming to Glen Mills, and also a program that is catered to that trauma for each individual.”
“We know that we will be under the microscope when we reopen, and we are fully aware of that and we welcome it,” says Christopher Spriggs, Acting Executive Director