Monday, November 7, 2016

Chappaqua: Drama Teacher to Register as Sex Offender

CHAPPAQUA - Christopher Schraufnagel pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he sexually abused students, part of a new plea deal that requires the former Horace Greeley drama teacher to register as a sex offender.
Schraufnagel, who had an earlier plea agreement rejected by New Castle Town Justice Douglas Kraus, admitted in court that he abused three students at the high school between 2011 and last year, including two instances that involved "sexual contact." Read more

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Chappaqua: Christopher Schraufnagel Drama Teacher Accepts Plea Deal that Would Include Registering as Sex Offender

Former Chappaqua drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel has agreed to a new plea deal that will put him on the state sex offender registry.
New Castle Town Court officials said Schraufnagel's lawyer notified Town Justice Howard Kraus on Monday that her client will accept a revised plea offer from Westchester County prosecutors.
Kraus rejected an earlier plea agreement on Oct. 6. That deal called for a sentence of three years of probation and required Schraufangel, a former teacher at Horace Greeley High School, to surrender his New York teaching license. It did not, however, call for him to register as a sex offender. Schraufnagel is charged with sexually abusing two of his students.
Assistant District Attorney Mary Clark-DiRusso proposed a new deal, which defense attorney Stacey Richman agreed to on Monday — the same day Schools Superintendent Lyn McKay resigned after months of criticism for her handling of the controversy that continues to plague the district. Read more

Monday, October 31, 2016

Chappaqua: Lyn McKay's Letter to The Community She is Retiring

Dear Community Members,

As you have just heard from our Board of Education, I am retiring.

It has been an honor to be your Superintendent these past 5 years. We have experienced a lot together, from great moments to extreme challenges. We have shared ideas at community coffees, through our Chappaqua Education for the Future committee, through Highlights, at our Knowledge Cafes, and through our many individual conversations.

Over the past year we have been experiencing the aftermath of the arrest of a former Greeley theater teacher. These times have been difficult for our students, community, staff, and Board of Education. This horrendous situation is one a district and community should never have to go through.

Among many emotions, we have felt saddened and betrayed. I, too, feel these same emotions, not only as your Superintendent but as a mother. I am confident, however, that by our District and community working together and continuing to keep student safety and well-being a top priority, our Chappaqua school community will heal and come through these challenging times even stronger than before.

Our District is strong, not just fiscally and operationally but instructionally. Our curriculum and instructional practices, along with focused, planned, and innovative professional development, are some of the finest in education.

Our teachers are continually learning and pushing our instructional methodologies to the next level through action research and study groups such as our iFellows. Our administrative team comprises strong, knowledgeable, and caring leaders. Our support staff are always here to assist our students. Our clerical and custodial staff consistently make our work easier.

I want to thank our community and our dedicated staff for their commitment to our students and for their dedication to continually improving our teaching and learning environments. The Chappaqua Central School District is known nationally as a leader in educational best practices because of you, and is poised to remain strong in the coming years. It has been a pleasure for me to have been part of this exceptional educational community and to have collaborated with such committed and talented people.

Chappaqua Schools has a lot to do in the next two years, working together to create the curricular and instructional practices that will enhance the use of our new Global Learning Environments, STEAM Labs, and Instructional Centers. I have no doubt the outcomes will be no less than extraordinary for our students.

It has been a joy to see our wonderful students and staff each day, and it has been a privilege to be your Superintendent. I wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Lyn McKay

Chappaqua: Will Wedge Holds Press Conference on Lyn McKay's Resignation

CHAPPAQUA – After months of acrimony and a parents’ vote of no-confidence, the Chappaqua school board on Tuesday is expected to accept the resignation of embattled Superintendent Lyn McKay over a sex-abuse case that has rocked the district.
McKay's handling of the Christopher Schraufnagel sex abuse case included approving a controversial legal defense that blamed his victims for the abuse they suffered.
Tuesday's vote to part ways with McKay comes a day after her “resignation for the purpose of retirement” was announced in a districtwide email from the Board of Education, accompanied by a farewell email from the 74-year-old superintendent who has held the post for five years. Read more

Chappaqua: Letter From BOE About Lyn McKay's Resignation

Dear Chappaqua School Community, 

Today, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lyn McKay, announced her resignation for the purpose of retirement. The Board will vote on the amendment to her contract at tomorrow's regular Board of Education meeting. We will also be voting on appointing Dr. Eric Byrne as the Acting Interim Superintendent for a brief period of time until an Interim Superintendent is selected and appointed. The process of selecting the Interim Superintendent is now underway. Going forward, as soon as practical, the Board of Education will begin developing the process for and then implementing a nationwide search for the next Superintendent of Schools.

We would like to thank Dr. McKay for her many years of service and dedication to our schools. We thank her for her unwavering commitment to the students, our children, to the community, and to family. Dr. McKay's educational leadership has been instrumental in helping the District move to the forefront of 21st century teaching and learning.

We also thank Dr. McKay for her forward thinking in active learning, in developing both the physical and emotional learning environment, in professional development and in integrating evolving technology into the curriculum. Finally, we thank Lyn for her dedication, determination, dignity and grace.

The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education
Alyson Gardner, President
Victoria Tipp, Vice President
Warren Messner
Jeffrey Mester
Karen Visser

Chappaqua: Superintendent of Schools Lyn McKay Resigns

CHAPPAQUA - Lyn McKay, whose handling of the Christopher Schraufnagel sex-abuse case included approving a legal defense that blamed his victims, resigned today as superintendent of Chappaqua schools.
According to a message sent districtwide by the Board of Education, McKay "announced her resignation for the purpose of retirement."Read more

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Chappaqua: Judge Allows Victim # 6 to Sue the School District


Civil claims filed against former Horace Greeley drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel by one of six former students may move forward, a judge has ruled.
State Supreme Court Justice Joan Lefkowitz said ina decision filed Wednesday that the student, identified only as "John Doe," may file a late notice of claim — the precursor to a civil lawsuit — alleging that the 42-year-old ex-teacher sexually abused him while he was a student in the Chappaqua Central School District. Read more

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

CCSD's Internal Investigation Report Regaring Schraufnagel

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- A newly released internal report from the Chappaqua Central School District covering alleged student sexual abuse shows that then-Horace Greeley High School drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel initially denied having "inappropriate" contact before declining to comment at a followup meeting. Read more

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Chappaqua School Board Calls Police when Interrupted

 The critic is Will Wedge, who has blasted the school district for its handling of the sex-abuse allegations surrounding former Horace Greeley High School drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel.
Wedge, who has called for the resignations of Superintendent Lyn McKay and school board President Alyson Gardner, interrupted board member Jeffery Mester while he was giving a report on school facilities and the district's upcoming capital projects, the latter of which stem from a bond package that voters passed in June.  

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Court Documents of Judge Kraus's Decision to Reject Schraufnagel's Plea Deal

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3124095-Judge-s-decision-in-Schraufnagel-sex-abuse-case.html

Judge Kraus Rejects Plea Deal in Christofer Schraufnagel's Sex Abuse Case

CHAPPAQUA - New Castle Town Justice Douglas M. Kraus on Thursday rejected a plea deal that would have kept Horace Greeley High School drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel out of jail and off the sex-offender registry despite charges he had sexual contact with underage students at the Chappaqua high school. Read more

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Calls for Chappaqua School Officials to Step Down

Chappaqua residents charged Tuesday evening that school district officials were neglectful for failing to take action against the disgraced former high school drama teacher while some called for the resignations of Superintendent Dr, Lyn McKay and board president Alyson Gardner. Read more

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Email About 'Report it'

Dear Chappaqua Families,
Late yesterday we launched an easier-to-access, more encompassing, online reporting tool called Report It. The purpose of this tool is to make it easier for middle and high school students to anonymously report any suspicious incident, activity, bullying, cyberbullying or other student-related or staff-related issue.
Report It includes two secure, online forms; one that is sent directly to the school principal and Dr. Kusum Sinha, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, and one for reporting an incident to the District.
A link to Report It can be found under the "Quick Links" section of the District website as well as on the homepage of each middle school and Greeley.
In 2014, under policy 5052, we posted a DASA incident reporting form on the District and all schools' websites for the purpose of providing a process for students, parents, and guardians who believe they have witnessed, heard about, or been the victim of harassment, bullying, hazing or discrimination to report to the building level DASA Coordinator (the Assistant Principal), Principal or Superintendent. This DASA reporting form continues to be on our website and is available to all parents, guardians and students at all levels.
We will introduce Report It to students in a variety of ways. We plan to inform high school students via email and in appropriate classes. Administrators will share Report It with middle school students in small group meetings.
This anonymous incident reporting mechanism is yet another way for us to promote a safe and caring learning environment.
Best,
Lyn

Friday, September 16, 2016

Chappaqua School Board emails Leaked

Below is a sample of the emails exchanged among a group of Chappaqua school board members between Aug. 12 and Aug. 15:
“I hope you are following the horrible dialogue that JL is posting on FB. She is also posting our response emails on her thread. Since she is posting in that manner, I say we write our email with some facts and let her post it. If she does not post it, our email may give a judge/jury some insight to her deviance. I am also going to track their conversation. I think any judge would see that they are in collusion with each other." (Trustee Karen Visser, 1:45 a.m., Aug. 12)
Read more


Wednesday, September 14, 2016

New York Magazine Article on Chappaqua Central School District and Drama Teacher

Two Chappaqua moms are on the phone, comparing their children. One mother’s son has gotten a 99 percent on his final exam at Harvard, while Susan’s kid got a 100 percent. “I guess my son is just one point smarter,” Susan smirks. In retaliation, the other mother then breaks the news about Susan’s younger children: “This must be so hard to hear,” she says, feigning sympathy, “but I got word of Natalie and Jason drinking and drugging!”

Read more

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Student files a Federal Law Suit Against Chappaqua Central School District #7

New federal claims against ex-Chappaqua drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel allege he had a five-year "coercive" sexual relationship with one student, engaged in oral sex with teens in school and on a class trip to Greece, and that students were "occasionally" drunk or high during performances.
The allegations come in the first federal civil lawsuit against the Chappaqua Central School District and the 42-year-old former teacher, who is already the subject of civil claims filed by six former students in state Supreme Court and criminal charges pending in New Castle Town Court.Read more

Court Filing of John Roe #7

Court Filing of John Roe.


Court Filing of John Roe

Monday, August 29, 2016

Chappaqua School District Agrees To Anonymity and Sealing Of Sex-Abuse Lawsuits

"The school district wants to protect the privacy rights of the students and their families and, at their request, we will discuss an appropriate stipulation with plaintiffs' counsel to protect their anonymity and seal the court files regarding these matters," said Brian Henderson, a lawyer for the district, in a Friday statement. Read more

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Sixth Victim Files Court Papers Against Chappaqua Central School District

Chappaqua school officials knew as early as 2011 that former drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel was accused of abusing students, new court filings claim.
According to documents filed in state Supreme Court in White Plains, Horace Greeley High School Principal Robert Rhodes told the parents of one alleged victim of sexual abuse by the controversial ex-teacher "that in 2011 there were accusations made about Mr. Schraufnagel similarly abusing a student at Greeley High School."

Chappaqua School Want the Names of the Sex Abuse Victims to be Revealed

A lawyer representing the Chappaqua Central School District, who argued in June that students accusing former drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel of sexual abuse were "reckless" and "negligent," now wants the names of the students' parents to be made public.Read more

Monday, August 22, 2016

New Castle Judge Questions the Plea Deal

A New Castle judge wants to know why former Horace Greeley High School teacher Christopher Schraufnagel won't have to register as a sex offender despite admitting that he sexually abused students.
In a letter to Westchester County prosecutors and Schraufnagel's attorney, Town Justice Douglas Kraus said he was concerned that the ex-teacher's pending plea deal wouldn't require him to register under the state Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), although several of the charges lodged against him last year would have required him to do so.Read more

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Christopher Schraufnagel Pleads Guilty

Controversial former Horace Greeley drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel agreed Thursday night to a plea deal that calls for three years of probation with sex-offender type restrictions, and requires him to surrender his New York state teaching license.Read more

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Fifth Horace Greeley Student File Claim Against the School

A fifth Horace Greeley High School student has filed a claim against controversial former drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel, alleging that he was the victim of "illegal and improper acts" and "multiple sexual encounters."read more

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Christopher Schraufnagel In Court

CHAPPAQUA - Former Chappaqua drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel left New Castle Town Court tonight with the word "pedophile" ringing in his ears.
That's what some among the more than a dozen parents and other community members who attended Thursday's hearing yelled as Schraufnagel and his attorney, Stacey Richman, walked out of the courtroom.
Facing a felony count of third-degree criminal sex act and six misdemeanor counts, including third-degree sexual abuse, for his behavior with students at Horace Greeley High School, his case was continued until Aug. 4 at tonight's proceeding.Read more

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Christopher Schraufnagel Appear in Court

A former Chappaqua drama teacher accused of inappropriate conduct with his students is due back in New Castle Town Court on Thursday, nine months after he was arrested and charged with sex abuse and other crimes.
Christopher Schraufnagel, 41, who resigned his job last fall after 12 years as a teacher, was charged in October with one felony count of third-degree criminal sex act and six misdemeanor counts, two of endangering the welfare of a child and four charges of third-degree sexual abuse. Read more

Monday, July 11, 2016

Chappaqua School Call Children Reckless and Blame them for the Abuse

The Horace Greeley High School students who are suing the school district over alleged sexual abuse by a former teacher only have themselves to blame, Chappaqua school officials charge in court papers.
Attorneys for the Chappaqua Central School District said that any harm suffered by four students, all of whom were 15 at the time they claim they were abused by ex-drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel, was "caused or contributed to by reason of the carelessness, recklessness, negligence and/or assumption of the risk, both implied and expressed, of the plaintiffs."Read more

Friday, June 3, 2016

Fourth Horace Greeley Student file papers in the Court for Intent to Sue the District

A fourth Horace Greeley High School student is alleging improper conduct by former drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel, including claims the teacher bullied him to expose himself.
The allegations come two weeks after three other students filed a civil lawsuit against the ex-teacher and the Chappaqua school district. Read More

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Former Horace Greeley Teacher Named in Sex Abuse Law Suit

A controversial former drama teacher at Horace Greeley High School groped and "engaged in sexual acts" with students, and provided them with alcohol and illegal drugs, according to a lawsuit filed by the parents of three students.Read more