THE February 12, 2021POSTSCRIPTTHE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE | 2425 Old Court Road, Baltimore MD 21208 Volume 78 Issue No. 5 Misconductby ADDIE FLEMING ’21, CALLIE KROSIN ’21, and LIZA SHEEHY roils ’21 Upper School On January 11, in a letter to the community follow- of the administration, Paradis shared that he didn’t recall has only recently been integrated into the school’s pro- ing a morning announcement to faculty, Head of School McGill ever bringing the concerns to his office. McGill tocol for investigating faculty misconduct. The Postscript Dan Paradis shared that Upper School history teacher declined to comment. has found no record of any notes that were taken during John Kessinger had been dismissed for “highly inappro- In an interview with Paradis, Wright, Upper School McGill’s conversation with Kessinger, and is unaware that priate communications” with a former student. Kessinger, Principal Patti Porcarelli, and Associate Head of School any formal report was ever written concerning McGill’s a Boys’ Varsity Cross Country coach, both academic and Priscilla Morales, Paradis confirmed what faculty had conversations with faculty and/or administrators. It’s also club advisor, as well as class advisor, taught in the Upper shared in interviews. “In the past, if a specific allegation unclear what, if any, documents and records were passed School for 18 years. was brought forward about misconduct, I think that the on to the several Upper School principals after McGill. Kessinger’s classes have been taken over by other school, and the administration, had a plan for how we Several faculty brought the ongoing rumors about members of the history department, as well as newly hired looked into that,” he said. “If it was more about appear- Kessinger’s behavior to former Upper School Principal teacher Steve Goldberg. Goldberg has picked up one sec- ances, without any specific allegation coming from an Nancy Dickson in later years. It is unclear to what extent tion of 11th grade 20th Century World History, as well as these rumors were investigated. Dickson, the only long- The Holocaust elective. He currently lives in North Caroli- There had been concerns brought for- term Principal the Upper School has had since McGill, na, and teaches fully remotely. Athletic Trainer Dan Lopez ward [to administrators at the time] also declined to comment. “I will not comment on per- is now in charge of Kessinger’s advisory. “ sonnel issues or the departure of any faculty member, past about John [Kessinger’s] interactions In his announcement to the Upper School, Head of “ or present,” Dickson wrote in an email to The Postscript. School Dan Paradis said that the incident occurred “well with a particular student, and that was In 2017 when the school hired T&M Consulting and before any current students’ time in the Upper School.” In addressed with John [Kessinger], but Investigations, the firm used to investigate personnel is- fact, rumors of a past misconduct have plagued the Up- was not pursued beyond that. sues, the administration made them aware of the rumors. per School for years. According to an anonymous alum, “Yes, we were aware over multiple years that there was students and faculty casually discussed Kessinger’s close alleged victim or from someone who claimed to have di- a rumor about John [Kessinger] in terms of a past situa- relationship with a student that seemed, to them, to cross rect knowledge of misconduct, if it was about what people tion...When we [hired T&M] we very intentionally shared traditional student-teacher boundaries. These suspicions were noticing, that was addressed with the teacher.” with the investigators anything that we were aware of,” were not unknown to the administration. In this case, “there had been concerns brought forward Paradis said. “This rumor was shared at the time.” Several current faculty members shared that, at the [to administrators at the time] about John [Kessinger’s] in- In December 2020, a credible source came forward to time, they themselves spoke with Upper School Dean of teractions with a particular student, and that was addressed Students Traci Wright and then Upper School Principal with John [Kessinger], but was not pursued beyond that,” Yes, we were aware over multiple years “ Mike McGill about concerns of a possible inappropriate Paradis said. that there was a rumor about John relationship between Kessinger and one of his students. According to Paradis, there is no record of conversa- “ They worried about the optics of Kessinger’s closeness tions with the student or the student’s family. “We rec- [Kessinger] in terms of a past situation. with the student. According to interviews with faculty, ognize that if we are addressing the appearance of a re- McGill had at least one conversation with Kessinger, but lationship that appears to be inappropriate, or that gives share information about Kessinger’s past misconduct. pursued no further investigation despite rumors. The Post- suspicion of something inappropriate happening, then we T&M, working with school administrators, uncovered script reached out to McGill for comment, but he declined really owe it to the student and the student’s family to in- “highly inappropriate communications.” By early the invitation to speak. In a conversation with members volve them in a more direct way,” Paradis said. This policy January, Kessinger was dismissed. History curriculum reexamined Surveillance pool testing begins by NORI LEYBENGRUB ’21 by CALLIE KROSIN ’21 On December 16, the Upper School summer where the five members of the With the rise in coronavirus cases and ceasing an activity (e.g. athletics, vocal or history department led its first open discus- history department met and contemplated hospitalizations, Head of School Dan Par- instrumental music, etc.), or temporarily sion on its curriculum. Department chair how to best solicit student feedback. The adis and Park’s Coronavirus Expert Advi- closing the campus,” Paradis wrote in his Daniel Jacoby invited students to discuss need for student feedback isn’t different, sory Group has added Covid-19 surveil- announcement of testing to the community the structure of the tenth grade curriculum but this format for obtaining student opin- lance pool testing as the newest tool in the on January 22. in particular, which is titled World History ion is new: inviting all students into a room community’s risk mitigation practices. After saliva testing kits are distributed to World War I. History teacher Katherine at once as opposed to more fragmented The surveillance pool testing will help on Thursday and Friday, students and em- Arner hoped for high attendance and for feedback. illustrate the scope of disease in the com- ployees will provide approximately two students to “without holding back, weigh The meeting was a way “to let students munity and the necessary actions to take milliliters of saliva in the kit over the week- in … about their experience with the cur- know that it wasn’t as if we had carved to prevent an outbreak, all while detecting end. The sealed tests are to be returned at riculum, and to not be afraid to engage any kind of curriculum in stone and that individual infections. The community was school the following Monday and Tuesday, with one another and to engage with the we were blindly following it. Instead, it is divided into four cohorts determined by the depending on which days the community teachers.” The primary goal of this first constantly evolving,” Upper School histo- laboratory with whom the school is work- member is at school. If the school is no- meeting was to start conversations. ry teacher Peter Warren said. The depart- ing. tified of a positive test, members of that The department is open to rethinking ment is constantly discussing and arguing The first testing group was required pool would quarantine while an individual the subjects covered in the curriculum, but changes to curriculum. to submit saliva samples through the first round of tests are taken by members of the only speaking amongst the faculty is not What further encouraged the history weekend of February, and samples will infected pool. necessarily productive. “You don’t really department to hold this type of meeting be collected for four consecutive weeks The testing landscape is truly chang- get out of that rut... Having conversations this year was an open letter to the Upper through simple collection kits provided by ing rapidly: kindergarten through second with students forces us to see things differ- School history department published in the the school. graders piloted a non-invasive test during ently, to either challenge what we are doing September 2020 issue of The Postscript, “Pooling (combining) samples and test- school-wide testing after winter break, in the class, or to see things we might’ve written by senior Vivie Eteme. These con- ing cohort groups is a cost effective way and winter athletes have begun saliva tests not paid attention to before,” Arner said. versations have been a long time coming to help us understand if mitigation efforts weekly as they begin indoor practices. The The push to reexamine the way Park is and Eteme was excited that the department are working or if other measures need to school-wide pool testing is just the latest teaching history began with a FACA last See DISCUSSION P.2 be taken, such as quarantining a cohort, step in keeping the community safe. EDITORIAL Trust. Before even beginning our time in Park obligation to act on information we acquire THE Upper School we were made aware of the over the course of an investigation.” rumors that John Kessinger had an inap- How are we supposed to trust this senti- propriate relationship with a former stu- ment after watching them ignore concerns POSTSCRIPT dent.