SOUTH HADLEY — A sought-after charter school for students with a passion for the arts was beset by controversy as the academic year closed, prompting some concerned parents to yank their children from the rolls.
While the head of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School argues the unrest is the product of a small group of disgruntled families, parents countered with a string of troubling events and allege a breakdown in leadership.
In the past year, two teachers were placed on leave over allegations of inappropriate touching of students in both the middle and high schools. The first set of accusations triggered a student walkout in March after the teacher was reinstated, and students’ concerns were essentially dismissed, according to parents and pupils. That teacher ultimately went out on leave.
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