Hawken teacher, volleyball coach resigns after alumnus’ allegations

A Hawken School health teacher and varsity volleyball coach resigned Oct. 30, a day after an alumnus contacted the school with allegations of inappropriate conduct, Head of School D. Scott Looney told parents in an email sent Tuesday. Patty Hace, 39, who taught high school human performance and health, was placed on immediate leave and barred from campus before she resigned, Mr. Looney wrote. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Sign Up Log In Purchase a Subscription He wrote that the allegations “do not involve any current students or recent graduates, but this news is nonetheless painful.” The school has not said what the alleged conduct was or when it occurred. Chester Township Police Department opened an investigation after Mr. Looney directly called the department to report an inappropriate sexual relationship between a female student and a female teacher who was still working at Hawken at the time of the allegation. The administration already addressed the matter with the teacher, who resigned. The allegations took place from 2012 until about 2015, according to the report. The school reported the information to local law enforcement and the State Board of Education of Ohio, Mr. Looney wrote in the email to parents. He said the school is working with authorities to determine “whether there is any indication of similar conduct involving other students or occurring more recently.” “Any behavior that violates the professional boundaries between adults and students is unacceptable and fundamentally inconsistent with Hawken’s commitment to Fair Play,” he wrote. Mr. Looney said Ms. Hace passed background checks required of all school employees, and that ongoing checks “did not reveal any issues.” Gina Zeman Walter, Hawken’s director of strategic marketing, said the school cannot share more information because the investigation is ongoing. Mr. Looney asked anyone with information related to the allegations to contact him or Associate Head of School Suzette Dyer. He said high school students would receive a separate message about how to get support. No charges have been announced. As of Thursday, Ms. Hace had been removed from the Hawken Hawks website, which had said she had been teaching and coaching at Hawken for 12 years. She attended Kenyon College and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.