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Hyde School: A Cult to Shape Character as Well as Mind

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Ursus:
With Larry Dubinsky still hanging around and an alleged gang rape on campus just three years ago, Hyde's public relations committee churns on...

Any comments ya can leave on the article would be much appreciated.
  :poison:  ;D  :poison:

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nbc CONNECTICUT
A School to Shape Character as Well as Mind
By BRAD DRAZEN
Updated 8:15 AM EST, Thu, Feb 18, 2010


Hyde School in Woodstock molds teens by focusing on character before academic achievement. · Getty Images

Conscience, leadership and integrity are words that have power. They are also the underpinnings of the Hyde School philosophy, developed four decades ago in rural Maine and played out every day on a campus in Woodstock.

At Hyde, they focus on who a student is more than what that student can do.

If a teen can improve his or her attitude, work ethic and character, academic achievement will follow, Executive Director Laura Gauld said.

"In fact, if you really want achievement, which is what we do, you can't make that your primary focus," Gauld said.

Hyde employs the same character-focused approach at two boarding schools -- the other is in Bath, Maine -- as well as public schools in New Haven and Washington D.C. The Hyde student does everything: college academics, performing arts and three seasons of athletics, regardless of what they did before they arrived in Woodstock.

"It could be that kid that's struggling in school, but it also could be that sibling who's doing everything right, but maybe doesn't have that authentic self-confidence," Gauld, a Hyde graduate herself, said.

Simi Deangelis, a senior, said the Hyde experience has pulled her out of a lifelong shell.

"I speak my mind and I'm more bold and stand up for what I believe in instead of for what people want me to," the 17-year-old Texan said.

Will Sobo, who is also a senior, was attending Xaverian Brothers High School in suburban Boston before he made the change to the Connecticut boarding school. The immersion in Woodstock has revived his once-bleak future, he said.

"Honestly, getting to college wouldn't have been a reality. They really push the limits of your character (at Hyde). A lot of kids come in here, including myself, whose character was shaky," Sobo said. "It's not always easy and it's not always fun, but I'm happy that I came here."

There's a strong family component to the Hyde philosophy as well. Will's father Bill knew he would be part of the process, but says he wasn't truly prepared for the rigors of the program.

"We didn't understand the the depth and breadth of the requirement, but it's been really good," the elder Sobo said. "It's a been a huge growth experience for us as parents."

First Published: Feb 17, 2010 11:27 AM EST


© 2010 NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

Joel:
Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Ursus:

--- Quote from: "Joel" ---I thought Larry Dubinsky was dismissed in 1976 and did not associate with Hyde anymore.
--- End quote ---
You might be thinking of Robert Thurrell, another of Hyde's perps... I admit, it's hard to keep track of all of them!

  :suicide:

In 1976, Larry Dubinsky was still a student at Hyde. He's one of a large number of folk that, for reasons certainly worth speculating about, never quite left.

In the early 2000's, Hyde School was sued by a student's parent(s) re. Dubinsky's alleged and continued sexual molestation of their daughter. Despite being presented with repeated complaints, Hyde did very little, essentially nothing, to address the issue.

Larry Dubinsky's wife, Donna Dubinsky (also a former Hyde student), still teaches at Hyde. Moreover, his kids go there. In fact, one of them is even featured in at least one of Hyde's recent promotional videos.

See also:


* Scary Larry back on campus!!!!!!!!!!!!
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=15689
* several posts detailing specifics re. the aforementioned case, starting
here.

Joel:
Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Ursus:
Some material excerpted from legal docs (see also 2nd link in my previous post):

7. For several years prior to and including the events described hereinafter, the defendant, through its administrators and officials, had actual knowledge that Dubinsky was subjecting the female students at Hyde School to sexual harassment which included inappropriate touching, staring, and comments. Despite such actual knowledge, the defendant retained Dubinsky  on its faculty and permitted him to continue to have daily, direct and unsupervised contact with the adolescent female students at the school, including the plaintiff.[/list]
8. During the second week of July, 2001, at the school, Dubinsky initiated a "role-playing" incident with the plaintiff in the course of which he insisted upon having full body contact with the plaintiff, repeatedly and over her objection, while making lewd and inappropriate comments to her which included the phrase "fucking pussy".[/list]
9. On August 1, 2001, while instructing a dance routine in which the plaintiff was involved, Dubinsky required the plaintiff to be his partner and to dance with him. He required her to bend down in front of him, then lifted her, raised her blouse, felt around her body for her hips and placed his hands on her hips. When the plaintiff objected and moved away from him, he attempted to coerce her into continuing.[/list]
10. When the plaintiff complained to the defendants administrators about the aforesaid misconduct, she was summoned to a meeting at which she was required to meet with Dubinsky and was criticized by administrators for not wanting to look at Dubinsky during the meeting. The following day, she was summoned to yet another meeting with administrators, which the administrators concealed from her parents. When school officials were informed in September of 2001 that the plaintiff was suffering from recurring nightmares regarding Dubinsky, a faculty member falsely accused the plaintiff of flirting with another male teacher. Her mother's pleas to the defendant's highest administrators that Dubinsky be kept away from the plaintiff and not allowed on school grounds were rejected. In February of 2002, the plaintiff was required to serve as a waitress at a party given the defendant's headmaster at which other under-age students were required to serve alcoholic beverages. Dubinsky was an invited guest at that party.[/list]

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