Additional information
by Amy L. Contrada (Author), Louisa Miller (Author)
BOOK DETAILS & EXCERPTS at Book2Look biblet: https: //www.book2look.com/book/qN2QFR92AG.
The book is endorsed by Professor Charol Shakeshaft, leading expert on the issue of educator abuse of students. It was declared a FINALIST (in True Crime category) by the National Indie Excellence Awards (2020).
PASSING the TRASH is the true story of an American community torn apart by a sex abuse scandal involving their school Superintendent, underage girls, and teachers he supervised. A brave School Board member smelled a rat, hired a private investigator, and uncovered the Superintendent's early crime. The 30-year chronicle is brought to life through the voices of the victims, community members, and the lying seducer.
A note on the book title: "Passing the trash" (a well-known phrase in the education world) refers to the corrupt practice of a school administration overlooking an educator's violation of ethical standards (often sexual in nature), failing to notify law enforcement for a proper investigation, and quietly passing the person on to an unsuspecting school system. That scenario is all too common across the U.S., but little to nothing is being done to eradicate the abuse.
PASSING the TRASH chronicles a teacher's sexual abuse of his student - and the school administrators' failure to report his crime early on and banish him from education.
This is also a tale of sexual exploitation of subordinates in the school workplace by the same man who became a powerful and charismatic school Superintendent. The scandal of his relationship with teachers he supervised eventually circled back to his original crime from thirty years earlier - and landed him in jail.
In both cases, the school environments were sexualized, authority figures lost respect, and children were harmed.
There are multiple victims in this story: First, the individuals (whether child or adult) who were seduced and sexually used by a narcissistic con artist. Then, the entire community beyond those involved in the sexual misconduct: the victims' families, the seducer's family, the school districts where he was employed, and the communities who fell for his deception.
This is a case study in how a predator operates. It is a documentary history of grooming, seduction, abuse, deception, and corruption. Yet a handful of principled people acted to expose a powerful predator and bring him to justice after years of deception.
The story is told in the voices of those involved, drawn from police reports, court proceedings, school system emails, School Board meetings and proclamations, and Facebook posts.
The concluding chapter includes resources on the issue of educator abuse of students, plus further reading on the social-historical context of the scandal.
The Kindle eBook edition has live links throughout to sources, more photos, and images of documents.
Email the author, Amy Contrada: CorruptBargains@MassResistance.org
