Marblehead Public Schools interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness announced in a statement that two reports have found that educators at the Glover Elementary School used restraint mechanisms that were not in accordance with the law or MPS policy.
The reports were conducted by external firm Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families following a student-restraint crisis at Glover on Nov. 20, 2023.
According to McGuinness, the reports supported “a finding of neglect of the student by certain educators who implemented the restraints.”
“The CIC report and the DCF findings confirm what the video of the restraints showed, which is that certain educators implemented restraints that were not authorized by law or district policy when they restrained a student on Nov. 20, 2023,” McGuinness said in the statement.
Following the incident, McGuinness placed four educators on paid administrative leave in December, which they remain on as of March 7. This sparked outrage from the Marblehead Education Association, which responded with threats of litigation. 97% of its members took a vote of no confidence in Student Services leadership just days after the educators were placed on leave, calling for then-Director of Student Services Dr. Paula Donnelly and then-Associate Director Emily Dean to resign.
On New Year’s Day, McGuinness announced that Donnelly and Dean had resigned from their positions.
It is not immediately clear what the reports’ findings will mean for the four educators on leave. McGuinness said in her statement that “the interim superintendent will be taking appropriate action consistent with law.”
