FORT COVINGTON, New York (WWNY) – Educators in the Salmon River Central School District have been placed on administrative leave, and the superintendent has been reassigned amid allegations that special needs students were restrained in wooden boxes at school. <\/p>\n
In addition, the district has shifted to remote learning for Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Salmon River Central School District Board of Education has launched an investigation into the conduct of school administrators following allegations of student mistreatment in the district,\u201d the board stated. <\/p>\n
The board said it\u2019s in response to allegations that students were restrained and secluded inside wooden boxes used as \u201ccalming stations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials said a law firm is conducting the investigation. The board said it\u2019s also cooperating with the state Department of Education\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n
After learning about the allegations, the board said it \u201creassigned Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stanley Harper to home duties pending the full investigation. Salmon River Director of Special Education Allen Gravell, St. Regis Mohawk School Principal Alison Benedict and elementary school teacher Karrie Haverstock were placed on administrative leave by the district until further notice.\u201d <\/p>\n
It concluded: \u201cOut of an abundance of caution for student and staff safety, classes at Salmon River schools shifted to remote learning for Dec. 18 and 19 to allow time for the investigation to begin.\u201d <\/p>\n
See the full statement here<\/a><\/p>\n The news on Thursday came after more than a hundred community members gathered at the Salmon River High School Cafeteria to address the school board.<\/p>\n It was the first meeting since a Facebook post, showing a wooden box<\/a>, began circulating. Parents claimed the box, with padding on the floor and a door, was to de-escalate the behavior of special needs students.<\/p>\n Parents say it\u2019s just the beginning of exposing longstanding questionable actions.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always seen the wave come, the outrage come, but it\u2019s never crested to wash this all out,\u201d said Chrissy Onientatahse Jacobs, the woman who posted pictures of the box on Facebook.<\/p>\n One parent who spoke at the meeting claimed his nonverbal special needs son was put in the box.<\/p>\n \u201cHe explained to us that if you are angry, or if you are sad, this is where you go when it\u2019s time to calm down,\u201d said the parent.<\/p>\n Some questions were answered when a concerned community member stood at the podium, asking for transparency.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to poll the question to each and every one of you. How long have you known about this being in use?\u201d<\/p>\n Much of the board said they had only learned about it a couple of days ago, but Superintendent Dr. Stanley Harper said he had known for three weeks. He said the boxes were designed by the director of special education.<\/p>\n He confirmed there were three boxes: two at Salmon River Elementary and one at St. Regis Mohawk Elementary.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is the box, by the way,\u201d a community member asked.<\/p>\n \u201cDisassembled. I\u2019ve had them all removed,\u201d Harper replied.<\/p>\n Parents have heard reports of staff instructing teachers to put children in the box and sit on a chair in front of it. They say it\u2019s been going on for months.<\/p>\n \u201cOther children in the school, including my children, said there\u2019s times you can hear the children screaming from that area of the school all day,\u201d said Jacobs.<\/p>\n 7 News has obtained a letter from the State Education Department\u2019s Office of Special Education, which contacted the district about the use of the boxes.<\/p>\n According to the Office of Special Education, restraint and seclusion are prohibited by state regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district is hereby directed, on behalf of the Commissioner, to immediately cease the use of restraint and seclusion, including wooden boxes. The district is further directed to remove these boxes from any buildings utilized for instructional purposes,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n (See the full letter from the Office of Special Education at the bottom of this article.)<\/p>\n The box at St. Regis Mohawk School, in particular, struck a nerve among members of the Mohawk community. There\u2019s a long history of Indigenous children being abused and neglected<\/a> in residential schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important that they know that we, as a community, are strong, and we\u2019ve shut down these schools before. The elders were talking about how they put chains on the doors. We aren\u2019t messing around. We can do it again. History repeats itself,\u201d said Dr Sarah Konwahahawi Herne. <\/p>\n Police say they are continuing to investigate. 7 News has reached out to the district multiple times over the last several days and has not heard back. <\/p>\n Copyright 2025 WWNY. 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