Worcester charter school cheer coaches on leave due to 'misconduct' allegations
WORCESTER - Several cheer coaches - the exact number is unclear - are on leave from the Abby Kelley Foster Charter School in Worcester amid allegations of misconduct, the school's director confirmed to WBZ TV.
An email went out to school families on Friday notifying them of the investigation and suspension for the rest of the cheer season.
"AKFCS has hired outside counsel to conduct the investigation and may consider further action once it is completed," Executive Director Heidi Paluk wrote in a statement. "We strive for our school community to be one where our charter virtues, especially respect and honesty, are valued. Our students' safety and wellbeing are paramount and guide our school policies and behavioral codes. We do not tolerate violations of these standards."
The coaches, according to parents, coach at every level: from elementary through high school. According to the school's website, more than 1,400 students attend in grades kindergarten through high school.
Parents of kids in the younger cheer programs tell WBZ-TV they have not been informed what the alleged "misconduct" is.
"Me as a mom, I want to know if something happened because we just got an email like that, and your mind is just open and it's like... What's going on?" one mother told WBZ TV anonymously.
Several of the school's cheer teams were set to compete this past weekend. Those competitions were canceled, as was the rest of the season, due to the investigation.
"The hard thing about it is that we have to tell her children what they worked so hard for, they can't compete, or they can't show what they did, and they think they did something wrong and it's just so sad for these kids," the mother said.
WBZ-TV reached out to some known members of the cheer staff for comment but did not hear back.
This story will be updated as information becomes available.