Curtis sets up an abuse hotline

Curtis sets up an abuse hotline

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norman lebrecht

August 15, 2019

Too late to overturn its previous missteps, the Philadelphia music college is offering a confidential safety mechanism to students.

Here’s what president Roberto Diaz has posted:

ugust 14, 2019

To the Curtis community:

As president and CEO of Curtis, I have a responsibility to ensure a healthy school culture in which our community members feel safe, supported, and heard when they voice concerns. Although we have existing channels for bringing reports of misconduct to our attention, we want to underscore our commitment to this responsibility and announce the launch of a new, additional reporting channel.

Effective August 9, 2019, we have engaged Lighthouse Services, Inc. to provide all Curtis community members with access to a hotline for reporting misconduct from the past or present. The purpose of this service is to ensure that any community member wishing to make a report of misconduct can do so in a safe space, without fear of reprisal.

Since 2003, Lighthouse Services has specialized in providing independent third-party hotline services to organizations of all types and sizes, including non-profits, institutions of higher education, K–12 schools, and youth services organizations. Lighthouse serves a roster of more than 3,000 clients with a reporting network covering over 2 million users.

To ensure maximum accessibility, Lighthouse Services provides a toll-free number, along with several other reporting methods detailed below, all of which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for use by Curtis community members. Concerns may be reported in any one of the following ways:

Website: www.lighthouse-services.com/Curtis

Telephone:
English-speaking USA and Canada: (833) 700-0026
Spanish-speaking USA and Canada: (800) 216-1288
Spanish-speaking Mexico: 01-800-681-5340
French-speaking Canada: (855) 725-0002
E-mail: reports@lighthouse-services.com (If using this method, Curtis’s name must be included within the report.)

Fax: (215) 689-3885 (If using this method, Curtis’s name must be included within the report.)

Website and e-mail reporting are available to anyone around the world, and Lighthouse staff are trained to receive reports in 39 different languages. Additional information about the hotline may be found in the Procedures document. Information about student safety and misconduct prevention protocols may be found here. Information about counseling and other student support services may be found here.

We will take every report made to the hotline seriously. The reports will be reviewed and investigated and, if the circumstances warrant, we will bring in an outside investigator to conduct an investigation.

If a community member does not wish to make a report to the hotline, but would like to speak to someone at Curtis, he or she may reach out to me, Senior Director of Human Resources Patricia Lombardo, or Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs Nicholas Lewis. We are all here to listen. I can be reached at (215) 717-3107, Patricia can be reached at (215) 717-3133, and Nicholas can be reached at (215) 717-3160.

Regards,

Signature_Roberto Diaz

Roberto Díaz
President and CEO

 

Comments

  • boringfileclerk says:

    So, if you’re German, you’re screwed…

  • Ben G. says:

    With all of these problems Curtis is facing at the moment, their focus and reputation of training young musicians has suddenly become secondary.

    • enquiring mind says:

      All these problems? what are you referring too?

    • Curtis student says:

      I mean, school hasn’t even started yet…

    • Hmus says:

      That would seem to me to be wildly overstated – as far as we have heard there is one case involving one teacher now deceased. Constantly re-stating the story multiples impression it makes, not the instance itself. And none of it devalues the tremendous quality of the achievement of the students and graduates of Curtis over the past 90-some years.

      • Ortambert says:

        That’s a very rational response, madam or sir. So out-of-place among the usual ranting so prevalent here. Instead of rehashing the past, perhaps they (Curtis) just want to provide a better future for all concerned.

        Please notice that the keeper of this blog presented this message without editorial opining, much to his credit.

        • Curtis student says:

          Very well said, Hmus and Ortambert. Nice to see that there are still some sensible people around…

  • Kolb Slaw says:

    Fine. If this doesn’t satisfy the nags, nothing will. I’m sure the hotline will get zero calls.

  • Kevin says:

    Horses and barn doors come to mind.

  • Cyril says:

    The problem with any hotline *funded by the institution where any potential abuses will occur* is that you can never be sure what will happen to your calls, and information in them, and your own position at the institution.

    If any student at any institution is subjected to sexual violence or assault, their first call should be to the police!

    Universities always want you to call their inside hotline. They don’t want stuff like this to become public.

  • Wagner says:

    Cute.

  • Al. Bert says:

    What about the former students who have acted poorly in society and now have jobs?

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