April 2, 2020

Dear San Francisco University High School Community,

We write on behalf of the Board of Trustees of San Francisco University High School to share with you the report recently prepared by Sidley Austin LLP concerning its investigation of reports of sexual misconduct at San Francisco University High School and to summarize the actions SFUHS is taking in response to the investigation report.

We know that this report comes as our community faces the impact of COVID-19. We wish to express our collective concern for your health and safety, that of your family and our entire school community. We considered whether to delay sharing this report for a time when the campus reopens. However, rather than postponing for an indefinite period of time, we chose to release the report at this time so that our community has this information promptly. In making this decision, we have been guided by our school’s values of integrity and care, and our commitment to communicate promptly and transparently.

To those who came forward as survivors of misconduct or witnesses to events, we are deeply moved by your courage and grateful for your commitment to share those experiences with the investigators. We offer our sincere apology to the survivors whose trust and innocence were betrayed by personnel of the School. Your assistance in making this investigation as thorough as possible was invaluable. With your help, we are now able to acknowledge past sexual misconduct by former employees and to implement recommendations to build on our safety protocols for current students, which we hope will be of some solace to our affected alumni and their families.

The Investigation Report

As noted in our previous communications, this investigation was prompted by a report that a former SFUHS employee, Rothwell “Rusty” Taylor, engaged in sexual misconduct when he worked at The Branson School during the 1970s. Because Taylor worked at SFUHS after leaving Branson, the Board retained Sidley Austin to initiate a comprehensive investigation of any reported incidents of sexual misconduct toward SFUHS students at any time in the School’s history by Taylor or any other employees, contractors, or volunteers.

The complete report is available on our website here. We have made the report available in its entirety so you will have the fullest understanding of its contents. Please know that the report includes information that is disturbing about incidents of sexual misconduct by former school personnel.

We want to thank Wendy Lazerson and Brian Stretch of Sidley Austin -- both with extensive experience in sexual misconduct investigations -- who served as independent counsel to conduct the investigation. Sidley Austin had not previously represented SFUHS, and they had full unfettered access to SFUHS’s files, records and personnel to conduct the investigation.

Support for Survivors

We realize that for many, access to professional support is a crucial part of the healing process. SFUHS has established a therapy fund to assist survivors with costs related to therapy associated with sexual misconduct experienced during their time at the School. We have also partnered with RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, for the operation of the San Francisco University High School Therapy Fund Hotline. RAINN will prioritize callers' emotional needs while providing information about the therapy fund and how to access it. Survivors may contact RAINN directly at (855) 930-2738 to participate in the fund.

SFUHS Response to Report

We appreciate that Sidley Austin included recommendations to further strengthen SFUHS’s policies and procedures. Among the steps the School is taking to respond to the findings and recommendations are the following:

The Board has designated this Oversight Committee to oversee the administration’s implementation of Sidley Austin’s recommendations and to regularly report to the Board on implementation.

The School has shared Sidley Austin’s report with local law enforcement, and we encourage any survivors who are comfortable in doing so to also report the sexual misconduct they suffered.

Although we do not believe that any of the named perpetrators are currently working at K-12 schools, SFUHS has informed schools where they previously have worked of this report.

For several years, the School has published policies on appropriate boundaries between adults and students and procedures for reporting misconduct toward students. These policies are shared with parents and students. See SFUHS Student-Employee Contact Policy. The School has also had an outside expert conduct annual training for all employees and coaches on appropriate boundaries with students and mandated reporting of suspected abuse. The School will review all of its policies and training in light of Sidley Austin’s recommendations.

School administrators have implemented new record keeping procedures to ensure that records of employee misconduct will be retained and accessible to the administration. All personnel records, including Athletic Department records, are now centralized. The School will also continue its practice of reporting credible reports of sexual misconduct to subsequent employers.

Reporting Abuse

As a reminder for every member of the SFUHS community, if you or your child have ever experienced sexual abuse or harassment by any employee, volunteer, or student at SFUHS, we encourage you to report the conduct by contacting any of the individuals listed on our website here. You may also make your report anonymously by calling a reporting hotline at (833) 640-0004. To protect confidentiality, this hotline is administered by an independent third party.

Finally, we want to acknowledge that these findings will be difficult for many of the students, families, and faculty who were at SFUHS during these years as well as the many alumni, alumni families, and current students and families who hold SFUHS and their experiences very dear. We recognize that releasing this report cannot and will not erase the past. We do, however, hope that by acknowledging this history, sharing this report, and expressing our sincere apology, it will be possible to aid in the process of healing that is so deserved by those in our community who have been harmed.

If you have any questions about the report or this letter, please reach out to members of the Oversight Committee by this email oversightcommittee@sfuhs.org.

Very truly yours,

Independent Investigation Oversight Committee

of the Board of Trustees of San Francisco University High School