St Kevin’s College stands down head of swimming
St Kevin’s College has stood down another senior teacher following a complaint. It comes after the departure of four senior staff members from the embattled school in recent weeks.
Education
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On Thursday another senior teacher was stood down from the embattled St Kevin’s College following a complaint.
Head of Swimming Gene Jackson is under investigation and a referral has been made to the Commissioner of Children and Young People.
The Herald Sun is not suggesting the investigation is related to the allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct at the school.
Parents have told the Herald Sun Mr Jackson was “old-school” in his training methods, which were “more suited to high level students in an elite environment”.
Mr Jackson was also described as “too hard on the kids with less ability”.
The shock news comes amid intense scrutiny of the school’s handling of child grooming allegations and support for former athletics coach Peter Kehoe while he was on trial for grooming a child under the age of 16.
The news follows the departure of four senior staff members in recent weeks in controversial circumstances: principal Stephen Russell, deputy principal Janet Canny, head of studies and English VCE teacher Gary Jones and drama and VCE maths teacher Simon Parris.
The school has appointed John Crowley as the new acting principal. This week Mr Crowley fronted the media telling them serious errors were made at the Toorak school, which charges annual fees of more than $20,000 a year.
“We need to do things differently in the future,” he said.
He admitted the school’s standards “had fallen behind what the community expects”.
His appointment has been welcomed as a “new broom sweeping through the school”, as one parent described it.
The school has not told parents of the decision to stand down Mr Jackson, but it did send a letter on Friday telling them of four new senior appointments. These include Hannah Kollmorgen as head of studies and Charlotte Banks as dean of sport.
Mr Jackson is listed in St Kevin’s Aquatic Club publication as holding a B.Sc. from Oklahoma State University and M.Sc. from the University of Illinois. It says Mr Jackson is a “past Australian 400m Freestyle Champion with vast experience both as a learn-to-swim teacher and a swimming coach of Commonwealth and Olympic Champions”.
It says he was a “full time employee of the college and manages the “learn to swim” programme of both Glendalough and Heyington campuses”.
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