Thomas Pritchard, Manlius Pebble Hill physical education teacher on administrative leave.
Just before the 4th of July Scott Wiggins will take over as the new Head of School at Manlius Pebble Hill in Dewitt. Wiggins was surely planning to add his ideas to the way the private independent school should be run, instead he will be handling a public relations crisis, an upset staff and a student accusing a teacher of sexual touching during a physical education class.
I initially learned about the arrest of physical education teacher and coach Thomas Pritchard through a tip two hours after his arrest. We live in too small of a town for this type of news to stay quiet for long. After confirming the information I contacted Manlius Pebble Hill.
The first person to answer the phone was in great spirits. She did not yet know why I was calling. When I told her she sounded stunned. She could not believe this long time, well respected coach and teacher was under arrest for forcible touching. The staff person knew this was a call that had to be passed up the line.
The administration was not surprised. They had acted swiftly upon hearing the allegations made by the girl on Tuesday. They contacted police. The investigation quickly progressed to an arrest in less than 48 hours.
The teenage girl had confided in another faculty member about the alleged incident that happened on June 1st during physical education class. That teacher that helped her tell her story to school leaders.
Susan Gullo is the communications person for MPH. She sounded quite upset as I talked with her about the details of the way the contact was revealed to the school. This is a tiny school community where people work side by side in integrated ever changing roles. One staff or faculty member can't help but know the others quite well. Tom Pritchard has been there for 18 years.
We will learn more in the coming days about the interaction that led to the charges. Those details likely will not make it any easier for the Manlius Pebble Hill community to come to terms with this troubling arrest just as the new Head of School is set to arrive.
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