Drew Charter announces arrest of former staffer involved in ‘inappropriate relationship’ with student

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Drew Charter School on Thursday, Nov. 16, announced that a “former staff member” had been arrested for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a student.

The school would not identify the staff member. A spokesperson for Atlanta Public Schools referred questions to Drew Charter School because it operates independently within the district. Drew Charter referred questions to the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department. A dispatcher at the APS Police Department said they had no information about the case and did not know how to contact the department’s public information officer. A spokesperson for APS told Decaturish to file a records request. Decaturish filed the records request.

The spokesperson for Drew Charter shared a statement from Head of School Peter McKnight.

“We are deeply disturbed by the recent allegations of an inappropriate relationship involving a former staff member at Drew Charter School. The safety and well-being of our students are our top priority, and we take any misconduct allegations extremely seriously,” he said. “Upon learning of the allegations, we notified the appropriate authorities and fully cooperated with their investigation. Our school will continue to support law enforcement throughout this process. Because we need to be careful not to compromise the investigation, we can’t share any more details at this time.

“We want to reassure our community that we hold our staff to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and the duty of care for our students. We are committed to providing all students with a safe and supportive learning environment. We understand that this situation may raise concerns and questions. Drew remains vigilant in its dedication to the safety and well-being of our students. We will continue to work collaboratively with our stakeholders, including parents, students, faculty, and community partners, to support our school. If anyone has any additional information pertinent to this ongoing investigation, please contact the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department at (404)802-2000. We appreciate the understanding and support of our community during this challenging time.”

This article originally appeared on Decaturish.

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