KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Survivors of abuse at Kirkwood High School in recent decades told the I-Team they were relieved to have their allegations and concerns heard by an independent investigation conducted by Encompass Resolution. They've been at odds with the district about what closure looks like from there.
The district tells the I-Team all allegations against current staff have been resolved and there are no active or open sexual abuse investigations for any current staff in the district.
KHS alumni who say they experienced the abuse are suggesting in a petition that the investigation should result in current school leaders stepping down.
Encompass Resolution's investigation concluded that 30 teachers in the past five decades have been accused of sexually abusing students at Kirkwood High School.
The district has not released the names of the accused. Charges were filed last year against former drama teacher Christopher Stephens, who is accused of abusing three students from 1992 to 1998 on Kirkwood district property.
Anna Shallenberger says she was abused by a female teacher at Kirkwood High School when she was 15 years old.
"She did try to touch me when I was getting dressed," Shallenberger recalled. The teacher she accuses of abusing her has not been charged or named by the district.
"I don't trust them to clean their own house," said Shallenberger. "They basically said, this is closed, we've investigated everything, there's no, you know, nothing to look at here."
Shallenberger is one of over 600 people who have put their names on a petition calling for the district to release the names of the accused teachers. They also want former and current school leaders held accountable for allegedly failing to act.
"Nothing has been said about, 'We're going to make sure that each one of these perpetrators, we have 30 names here, are held accountable,'" said Brian Carlson. He's a former Kirkwood High School student who learned last year that his sister accused a Kirkwood teacher of abuse.
"I'll just say that it was severe sexual abuse," said Carlson. "And it was known about...But nothing came of it, nothing was done for my sister, nothing at all."
Katie Pappageorge says the same thing happened to her allegations in the late 1990s.
She waited two decades after district officials heard allegations of abuse she experienced before her teacher, Stephens, faced criminal charges.
The I-Team found that there was no district investigation into Pappageorge's experience before Stephens was allowed to resign in 1998 with the promise that police would not be involved.
"I hear from more people every single day," said Pappageorge. She and other survivors have connected through Facebook groups. A Facebook KHS alumni group was also the place where Pappageorge first shared her experience, beginning a flood of reports from fellow alumni who said they were also abused by staff members.
Even though many of the allegations began decades ago, the petition also lays blame on current administrators for what they say is the continuation of a system that did not hold abusers accountable.
"The community doesn't feel those complaints are resolved," said Pappageorge.
A representative for Kirkwood School District wrote in a statement: "Since the report was presented and released publicly on June 28, 2021, the Kirkwood School District has been in contact with Encompass Resolution on an ongoing basis to determine if there were any pending allegations that were reported to them or investigations that required follow-up by the District. Any allegations regarding current personnel have been resolved in accordance with applicable Kirkwood Board of Education policies and laws. We have also been in contact with law enforcement with regards to any open cases or allegations; there are no active, open investigations into sexual abuse for any current staff in the Kirkwood School District. [Emphasis in the original]"