20 staffers accused of abusing students or not reporting it at
Pennsylvania charter school
[April 01, 2025]
By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI
Twenty staffers at a suburban Philadelphia charter school are facing
charges related to the alleged physical abuse of students using painful,
unapproved techniques to restrain and punish youths in a program meant
to help them deal with emotional issues, authorities announced Monday.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said the counts
involve acts against 26 children in kindergarten through fifth grade at
the Chester Community Charter School. Those charged are accused of
physically abusing the students or failing to report suspected abuse.
The investigation by Chester police began after two parents complained
to school officials in January that their children were afraid to attend
the school due to fears of being placed in "holds" by school staff.
“This case is every parent’s nightmare. We send our children to school
expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and
emotionally," Stollsteimer said. “Our investigation showed some staffers
physically abusing children while other (adults) sat passively and
watched. All the adults charged are equally guilty in failing to protect
these children, some as young as 5 years old.”
The district attorney said the alleged abuse occurred in a program for
children who required help with their emotions in dealing with school
life, fellow students and other situations.
The police investigation determined that nine of the defendants used
techniques to restrain and punish children in the school’s emotional
support program, he said.
Stollsteimer said that included painful techniques such as pinching
students on pressure points near their necks, holding students in
restraints, placing them in holds with their arms crossed in front of
them and having a knee applied to their back until the student was
brought to the ground.
Many of these abuses were captured on surveillance camera footage
obtained and reviewed by investigators, Stollsteimer said.
Those charged include several people employed by a private firm, Peak
Performers Staffing. Stollsteimer said a company founder had offered the
school assurances its staff was properly trained, but when investigators
sought records documenting staff training in utilizing restraints and/or
crisis prevention techniques, it was learned none of the company's staff
had completed the required training.
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A sign stands outside the Chester Community Charter School on
Monday, March 31, 2025, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)
School officials confirmed to investigators that any use of a
“safety hold” must be reported under state guidelines. But officials
said no such holds were reported by the school during 2024, when
many of the abusive acts were alleged to have taken place.
Nine people face multiple counts, including conspiracy, unlawful
restraint, child endangerment and false imprisonment. The 11 others
are charged with at least one count of failure to report child
endangerment. All of the defendants are classified under state law
as mandated reporters of suspected child abuse incidents.
A few of those charged were in custody as of Monday afternoon, and
Stollsteimer said many others had made arrangements to surrender
shortly.
Voice mail messages left Monday for the school administration office
and at a phone number listed for Peak Performers Staffing were not
returned. The school, though, released a statement saying it was
fully cooperating with the police and had ended its contract with
the company once school administrators learned there may have been
possible violations of approved disciplinary methods.
School employees accused of taking part in the abuse were fired,
according to the statement, while those who may have been aware of
the alleged abuse were put on leave.
“As soon as school administrators learned that there was any
possible violation of approved (disciplinary) methods, it took swift
and decisive action to terminate the contractor," the school
statement said.
According to its website, the school was established in 1998 and now
serves more than 4,000 students in the Chester-Upland school
district in Delaware County, accounting for two-thirds of that
district's overall public school enrollment. It serves kindergarten
through eighth grade on four campuses.
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