Lawsuit Against Midcoast Maine Private School Alleges Student Abuse That Officials Strongly Deny

A lawsuit against a private high school in Bath by students alleging abuse has sparked a widespread debate over its educational role – effective boot camp or cauldron of out-of-control discipline.

The class-action suit claims hundreds of students were trafficked, abused and exploited.

The suit was filed by a former student claiming she endured years of harassment while attending the school.

Dana McCavity, chair of the school’s board of governors, defended the school.

McCavity insisted the lawsuit’s claims “grossly mis-characterize Hyde’s policies and practices over time or are patently false.”

“Hyde vehemently denies these claims and intends to vigorously defend itself, its reputation, and the character education model that makes Hyde the special and effective school it is,” McCavity said.

Hyde, a 9-12 college-prep boarding school founded “to develop self-confidence and self-discovery,” was established in 1966 by Joe Gauld.

Gauld had previously worked as a teacher for 13 years in public and private schools.

Concerned by “sentimentalist attitudes” about child-raising, he believed that “society is blind to the reality that teens need to face and overcome difficult challenges if they are to become confident, productive, fulfilled adults,” according to Wiki.

He created a curriculum more focused on “development of character and a deeper sense of purpose than just achieving good grades, going to a good college, and having a good job,” Wiki says.

Gauld first took his idea to Berwick Academy when he was appointed headmaster there.

He has said he resigned after conflicts with the trustees about his approach to education.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jessica Fuller, claims in the federal lawsuit filed last week that she suffered physical and emotional abuse while attending the school.

The single lawsuit is accompanied by a class-action claim that alleges hundreds of students suffered similar abuse.

What’s described in the lawsuit arguably encapsulates the essence of a no-nonsense Marine boot camp, which is debatably the whole raison d’etre of Hyde School.

But Hyde’s tough-love model is a product of the 1960s when private self-help schools – designed to scare aimless kids straight – were in their zenith.

Now, maybe not so much.

The effectiveness and ethical implications of tear-down-to-build-up approaches employed by some boot-camp schools is now more widely debated.

A former student – mkappy33 on Reddit – who was at Hyde 2011-2015 says that “it was tough as hell but it wasn’t abuse.”

“The real problem they have,” the former student added, “is they don’t have any licensed clinicians there. Just regular people performing psychotherapy on each other. But other than that, it’s really not that horrible.”

ENTroPicGirl, who went to Kent’s Hill School in the early 90’s, said, “All I remember about Hyde was competing against them in sports and that it was the school you got sent to if you had disciplinary issues.”

“That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the accusations were true; many boarding schools across the country have some pretty questionable practices. I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.”

GonePhishn401, who attended Hyde in the early 2000s, said “it’s the last place on the planet you should bring a troubled teen that needs individualized psychological help, and it’s probably even a worse place to bring your kid if you want them to get a real education.”

“IMO the biggest crime they commit is passing off their academic program as being even half as good as the average Maine public high school.”