Sexual Misconduct in the Schoolhouse

This book seeks to educate principals, counselors, teachers, coaches, support staff, and students about sexual misconduct, while providing a training model to prepare school staff to avoid sexual misconduct, to encourage school leaders to upgrade their supervision efforts, and to provide needed outreach and intervention before sexual misconduct occurs. To help eliminate sexual misconduct in schools, this book provides step-by-step training procedures that can be used as part of the schools' staff development program to teach educators about the importance of setting boundaries. Real-life case studies documenting inappropriate teacher-student relationships are included.The major focus of this second edition is to alert educators to the effects of unrelenting school reform efforts, which have become a distraction at best and a barrier at worst to dealing with problems such as sexual misconduct. This book provides a roadmap of what needs to be done to restore each educator’s mission to being committed to their students’ well-being before it is too late.

‘We are all at risk.’ With these words, Dr. Fibkins reframes the problem of sexual misconduct by teachers and coaches. Perpetrators are not predators, by and large, but professionals who fall prey to an occupational hazard—caring gone down the wrong road. The situation is made worse by a refusal, for a variety of reasons, of schools and districts to provide the kind of training, monitoring, mentoring, and support to prevent and, when necessary, to address misbehavior. The good news: solutions are presented here., Fibkins’s new book provides a roadmap for educators on how they can restore their important mission to care, support, and protect students and staff before trouble such as sexual misconduct arrives at their door. In many schools, doors once open for help are now closed because of the never-ending demands of reformers to increase student test scores…Fibkins rightfully reminds educators, parents, and citizens that schools do have the responsibility to help students and staff resolve their personal and well-being problems before their lives turn tragic and support the growing effort to free our schools from the domination of school reformers.

William L. Fibkins is an author and consultant specializing in developing intervention programs for at-risk students, training teachers, counselors, parents, and students as advisors and peer helpers.