Springs Survivors
We are a community of survivors and friends who support the survivors of childhood sexual abuse at Indian Springs School. We are working together to create a safe space in which we can discover truth and promote healing for the entire Indian Springs community. We believe by bringing light to the school's history of abuse we can honor the traumatic experiences of the victims, let them know they were not alone, and work to create a safer school for future generations of Springs students.
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Misconduct at Springs |
Our Goals
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For decades, Indian Springs was home to a number of faculty members and staff, who abused their power and standing in the community to sexually abuse students. As students, many of us may have seen the signs -- adults who were inappropriately close, both physically and emotionally, to students -- but we lacked the ability to comprehend what we were witnessing as abuse. However, as adults, we know that this was wrong. Looking back on our experiences, it is difficult to understand why these abusers were allowed to predate for so long and until so recently. The school clearly failed to protect its students.
When Springs opened its investigation into historical educator abuse, we were heartened. We hoped this would be an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and to shine light on the darkness. However, the publicly released results of this investigation were not complete. In refusing the name any of the living perpetrators and in excluding several credible reports of abuse, Springs is demonstrating a woeful lack of moral courage, and it is choosing to protect the abusers at the expense of the abused. |
We hope to provide support to the survivors of sexual abuse at Indian Springs and to encourage the school to examine its history of abuse with honesty and courage, living up to the values the school tries to instill in its students and doing right by those who were hurt on campus. More than anything, we hope by sharing our stories we ensure that other survivors feel supported and that the school makes necessary changes to ensure that these tragedies are not repeated for future generations of Springs students. We know that these were not the isolated misdeeds of a few bad actors. They were allowed to continue because the school's culture obscured them, and when they were brought into the light, the school failed to intervene.
Get Involved
Share your story. If you experienced any misconduct or harassment at Springs, please share your story with us and join our community of survivors and friends. If you would like to send a message of support to the survivors of sexual abuse at Indian Springs, please share your support.
Sign the petition. Sign the petition requesting the Board of Governors and current administration respond to the school's history with greater transparency. Share our efforts. Your support is powerful. Please share our posts and help raise awareness. |
You can recognize survivors of abuse by their courage. When silence is so very inviting, they step forward and share their truth so others know they aren't alone.
- Jeanne McElvaney, Healing Insights: Effects of Abuse for Adults Abused as Children