Former music teacher Jason Parker will face trial on June 9. On Jan. 14, King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion announced Parker had been charged with the crime of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. Court documents obtained by The Puma Press claim that Parker inappropriately touched a student at school. He pleaded not guilty on Jan. 23. When contacted by The Puma Press, Parker’s lawyer did not respond for comment.
According to an email on Jan. 23 from Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau to all parents, Parker has not been teaching at the school since Aug. 30. The email also stated that the school is not aware of any other alleged misconduct by Parker.
Other than the statement, Codrington-Cazeau said she cannot share any more details on the issue as it is an ongoing court case and she must protect the school legally.
“I feel really sad that we cannot be more transparent,” Codrington-Cazeau said.
Once Codrington-Cazeau hears about accusations, she immediately starts working to ensure school safety.
“We, as a leadership team, sit and review all of our policies to make sure that we didn’t in any way help create this situation,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “We talk with HR and legal counsel about if we need to make any changes.”
In 2022, the school changed its process in regards to athletic hiring after the varsity volleyball coach was fired regarding content linked to his Twitter account.
“I never met coaches that were hired because they were very part-time, and no one wanted to waste my time,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “Now, I interview every single applicant to be a coach here.”
According to Codrington-Cazeau, every faculty member must also go through training when they arrive, and every other year everyone completes a boundary, sexual harassment and behavior training.
“We have people from our insurance company come out and do them, and our HR people come and do them. Everyone has to sign a paper saying that they were there. So I don’t honestly know what we could do differently,” she said.
Codrington-Cazeau believes that the current processes in place help keep students safe, but acknowledges “no one can be 100% sure.”
In this case the school offered places like the counselors, for faculty and staff and students to talk about the situation, according to Codrington-Cazeau.
She also emphasizes the importance of students telling a trusted adult if they ever feel uncomfortable.
“We want all students to know that this is a safe space, and I think the reaction of the school demonstrated that for all students,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “This is a space where if they speak up, they are listened to and believed.”
