The Glen Mills Schools Engages External Review Panel to Assess Allegations of Misconduct and to Formulate Operational Best Practices

GLEN MILLS, Pa., Feb. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Glen Mills Schools ("Glen Mills") announced today the formation of a special panel that will commence an in-depth review into reports of misconduct in order to provide the highest level of accountability and transparency and identify areas of opportunity for change.

The review will gather information from current and former students and staff, as well as parents and other affiliates of Glen Mills. The panel will operate entirely free from the influence or supervision of Glen Mills leadership and staff. Glen Mills has asked for an informed and objective review by external subject matter experts. 

"We have a responsibility to provide the highest quality services to the at-risk youth who we serve," said Dr. Randy Ireson, Glen Mills Schools. "This review panel will consist of some of the most highly regarded experts in their respective fields. Their task will be to identify where shortcomings may exist in our current operations as well as identify best practices, so that we can continue offering students a future filled with new opportunity, hope and resiliency. We have asked for and expect a frank and candid assessment."

The panel of regionally and nationally respected experts will have full authority to probe into all aspects of Glen Mills including, but not limited to operational protocols and procedures, organizational structure, legal cases and policies.

The panel co-chairs will include:

• Leslie M. Gomez, Esquire, Vice Chair, Institutional Response Group, Cozen O'Connor
• Elfreda Massie, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert in education, who is a "Distinguished National Faculty" member for the National Center on Education and the Economy

Cozen O'Connor's Institutional Response Group, founded by Chair Gina Maisto Smith, focuses on child protection in the educational context. This team of experts has been at the helm of many significant child protection investigations and regularly audits child protection policies and programs.

"Having prosecuted thousands of child abuse cases as a sexual abuse prosecutor and Chief of the Juvenile Court Unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, I applaud the school for taking this critical step to prioritize child safety and welfare and promote accountability," said Leslie M. Gomez, Vice Chair, Institutional Response Group, Cozen O'Connor. "At the forefront of the review is our obligation to the protection of minors, both in understanding historical reports by students and their families and ensuring that the current policies and procedures are in line with effective practices nationally."

The review panel will include a multi-disciplinary team of educators, child abuse professionals, and mental health experts to gather and review facts in a sensitive and informed manner and put forward recommendations to assure student safety and quality programming.

"With more than three decades of experience in school administration, I have worked with thousands of students from diverse backgrounds, many of which come from difficult situations," said Elfreda Massie, Ph.D., distinguished national faculty member, National Center on Education and the Economy. "Glen Mills Schools is in a unique position to help these at-risk youth from across the country transform their lives and ultimately reach their full potential. This review panel will conduct a deep dive into the culture at Glen Mills to uncover all the facts and ensure these students are thriving in a productive and safe learning environment."

About Glen Mills Schools

The Glen Mills Schools was founded in 1826, originally incorporated as the Philadelphia House of Refuge. The Philadelphia House of Refuge was the third school of its type in the country, following the New York House of Refuge in 1824 and the Boston House of Refuge in 1825. In 1892, the school relocated to its current campus in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on nearly eight hundred acres, and in 1911 changed its name to the Glen Mills Schools. Today, the Glen Mills Schools is the oldest existing school of its type in the United States, continuously providing services to troubled youth for over one hundred and eighty-nine years.

Contact: Aimee Tysarczyk
484-385-2909

SOURCE Glen Mills Schools