FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — Two former staff members from Cornerstone Academy on the northeast side of Columbus are speaking out after claiming that kids were being locked in classrooms at the school.
After getting a tip about the issue, 10TV contacted Accel Schools, the group that owns the charter school.
An Accel Schools spokesperson confirmed that there was truth to the claim but summed it up to a "training issue."
10TV also spoke exclusively to those two former staff members. They asked for their voices to be masked and kept anonymous because they feared retaliation.
The pair said that devices called a "Nightlock" were being used.
The devices are used to lock doors and windows from the inside and to keep unauthorized visitors out of the room.
"It's for intruders that come into the school so that they do not get inside the classrooms," said the first former staff member.
"So essentially the thing that should be keeping a danger out was being used to keep kids in?" asked 10 Investigates reporter Rochelle Alleyne.
"Yes," they said.
However, the former staffers say the locks were sometimes engaged when students tried running out of the classroom.
It's a behavior also known as "eloping."
"My always immediate reaction is, 'Oh no,' because what am I gonna do? Do I chase after them or do I stay with the rest of my class and [use my] walkie [talkie]?" said the second former staff member.
Both claim they were told to do this by a "veteran teacher" at the academy to help keep kids under control.
"What if I had that Nightlock in and I passed out for some reason? There's no one able to get into my room at all," said the second former staff member, "And then, so I'm just stuck in there and then that's a whole other issue. So, it was just, it didn't feel right. And so I made it very clear that I was absolutely never going to do that again."
"How should a teacher or staff member handle a student who's in that place where they're eloping?" asked Alleyne.
"We are kind of taught to put our hands physically on them and to restrain them," said the first former staff member.
10TV tracked down Cornerstone Academy's policies for "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Seclusion and Restraint."
The policy doesn't outright ban physical restraint of students.
But it does "prohibit physical restraint" that involves pinning students by the "neck, head or torso" using your knee. It also prohibits using "pressure point, joint or pain compliance," "unnecessarily" causing pain or impacting "a student's airways or primary mode of communication."
Those staff members also showed 10TV an email sent out on Nov. 7 by the school's principal.
It said in part:
"Effectively immediately, if you are using the nightlock system or have used it for keeping students contained, whether it is for their own safety or not, please stop immediately."
The email goes on to say that teachers were never authorized to do this by the administration.
The principal adds that this practice could get the school investigated by the state and turn into a "public relations nightmare."
"It makes me very angry and frustrated because I feel like they only sent that out to just cover themselves," said the first former staff member.
Accel Schools sent the following statement:
"While behavioral issues are low for a school of Cornerstone Academy’s student population of nearly 1,200 K-12 students, like other schools, Cornerstone Academy has seen an increase in issues like student elopement since the COVID pandemic.
Cornerstone Academy serves approximately 600 students at its elementary campus. Like other elementary schools, most K-5 students experienced a disruption to in-person learning, began elementary school in an online or hybrid learning format, and/or did not attend or complete a preschool program.
As a top-performing public charter school, Cornerstone Academy benefits from attracting families that are interested in an academically rigorous, college preparatory learning environment. Our families are typically eager to partner with us in addressing academic or social-emotional recovery relating to pandemic learning loss, an issue we proactively began mitigating by returning to school in Fall 2020 with three learning format options for families to choose from: in-person, hybrid, or online.
Students and teachers at Cornerstone Academy additionally benefit from strong, seasoned administration at all three campus levels as well as a full-time behavioral health partner who was brought onboard four years ago in response to pandemic needs.
To keep behavioral escalations low and academic achievement high, Cornerstone Academy teachers are trained in creating calm learning environments, building an inviting culture of trust between students, parents, and the school, and in de-escalation tactics to calm students who are upset. Trainings occur on an annual basis in-person before school begins, throughout the year online in partnership with Public School Works, and throughout the year on an as needed basis during in-person professional development days.
In early November, it was brought to the attention of Cornerstone Academy’s elementary school principal that a teacher used a floor-mounted door brace (intended for use during emergency school lockdowns) to mitigate a student elopement issue.
Cornerstone Academy administration does not condone this tactic, and immediately took five actions:
- Opened an investigation to determine the scope of the matter.
- Once it was determined that the issue was isolated to one occurrence each by two elementary teachers, Cornerstone administration addressed the issue with both teachers following the school’s progressive disciplinary policy. Since the time of formal re-direction, no further discipline-worthy actions have taken place.
- Set aside time at the next scheduled professional workday (approximately one month away on 12/2) to review expectations and provide the support of additional training.
- Additionally provided an immediate email communication to all teachers to:
- Inform about the issue
- Reiterate clear expectations
- Notify about the upcoming training
- Offer individual support in the event anyone had questions prior to the upcoming workday
- Communicated the issue to parents.
Cornerstone Academy is committed to keeping students safe, communicating with parents openly, and supporting teachers and staff as they address academic or behavioral concerns. Our administration holds itself to high standards and will continue to work through community concerns accordingly to maintain our reputation as a safe and top-performing K-12 school."
10TV asked for clarification on the number of teachers that this incident involved. A spokesperson sent another statement:
"When school administration investigated, the teacher mentioned they had heard about the practice from another teacher. The investigation concluded that both teachers used the practice once.
School administration addressed the issue with both teachers following the school’s progressive disciplinary personnel policy. Since the time of formal re-direction, no further discipline-worthy actions have taken place."