Exclusive boarding schools face reckoning on sexual abuse

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A series of sexual abuse scandals is forcing a reckoning at some of New England's most exclusive boarding schools and sending a shudder through similar institutions around the country that have long been training grounds for members of America's elite.

[...] at New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy, several graduates have accused faculty members of sexual abuse and other inappropriate behavior.

"Absolutely, there is a period of intense self-examination happening," said Pete Upham, executive director of the Association of Boarding Schools, an organization of 280 college prep schools, mostly in the U.S. and Canada.

While similar scandals have broken out in the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, ordinary public schools and a host of other institutions, some abuse victims, alumni and former faculty members say there are certain features peculiar to elite boarding schools that contributed to problems there.

St. Paul's has brought in experts to instruct students about harassment and relationships and has threatened to expel anyone participating in sexual competitions at the 160-year-old Episcopal school, whose alumni include Secretary of State John Kerry, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, at least 13 U.S. ambassadors and three Pulitzer Prize winners.

New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy, which was founded in 1781 and is the alma mater of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and President Franklin Pierce, acknowledged last month that a teacher who was forced into retirement in 2011 had admitted to two cases of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1970s and '80s.

Since the disclosure, police said they have received a number of reports from alumni and are now investigating "sexual misconduct and abuse of students by at least two current or former faculty members."

[...] the Association of Boarding Schools announced last week that it is forming an expert task force to develop training and practices for preventing sexual misconduct.

Among other things, they have adopted more stringent faculty background checks, created tip lines and set aside safe spaces for people to speak up, he said.