Twenty workers at Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) are facing charges for allegedly physically abusing or failing to report the abuse of 26 children. The charges come after a two-month investigation and include multiple counts of conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child.
In January, two parents reported to the Chester Township Police that their children were afraid to attend school for fear of being placed in a “hold,” a technique of holding and restraining a student’s arms while pressing a knee into the child’s back to bring them to the ground.
While investigating the report, police determined that 26 students, some as young as age five, were restrained and punished by nine workers. The adults would pinch pressure points in student’s necks, hold them in restraints, and make physical threats. Much of the abuse was captured on school surveillance cameras, along with numerous other staff watching, but making no efforts to intervene.
Officials said most of those charged were not school staff, but employed by a third-party contractor, Peak Performers Staffing, LLC. While the company insists staff members were trained in proper safe restraint techniques, investigators determined none of those charged had required up-to-date training.
Chester Community Charter School distanced themselves from the company, releasing the following statement:
“CCCS has recently learned that several individuals, employees of a certified outside contractor formerly associated with the school, are being charged by local authorities for using disciplinary methods which are strictly prohibited by the school. As soon as school administrators learned that there was any possible violation of approved methods, it took swift and decisive action to terminate the contractor.
CCCS employees who are alleged to have carried out such practices were also promptly terminated at that time, and any employees who might have had knowledge of the situation were placed on leave, pending further investigation. We also recently learned that three employees are being charged as part of this investigation for failing to report alleged misconduct. They have been suspended pending further investigation. CCCS has been completely cooperative with local authorities.”
The school principal said that any use of “safety holds” must be reported in accordance with Pennsylvania state guidelines, and no reports were made during 2024 when much of the alleged abuse took place.
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