In 2024, two former students of a Pittsfield boarding school came forward with allegations of rape and grooming at the hands of a teacher.
That prompted multiple independent investigations into how leaders of the all-girls Miss Hall's School handled complaints of alleged sexual misconduct on campus.
Since then, there have been multiple developments, including former teacher Matthew Rutledge being charged with rape - to which he pleaded not guilty — and the former head of school Jeannie Norris being indicted on a charge of reckless endangerment of a child.
Then, this week, the current head of school, Julia Heaton, announced she would step down after the 2027 spring semester.
Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes spoke about these developments with Hilary Simon, a lawyer and one of the Miss Hall's graduates who put her face and name to the school's long history of alleged sexual abuse.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Simon: I think that it's really important to mention that institutional accountability has to outlast any one leader, and it's not just about Julia.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about her stepping down. She supported the Aleta investigation report and the release of that report to the public, which I thought was really important, not just for Miss Hall's, but for other schools and institutions everywhere on how to deal with sexual misconduct. I give her credit for that. She's also been supportive of survivors during this process. I don't think that her 12 years at Miss Hall's should be entirely defined by the crisis. She did do a lot to push Miss Hall's forward on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and making students from other backgrounds feel comfortable. I hope that the next leader continues that work. I still think that there's unfinished business at Miss Hall's. Julia may be leaving, but the institution remains, and and institutional accountability. There's still work to be done on that.
Landes: News of Julia Heaton's departure followed some bigger news earlier this summer about the indictment of former head of school Jeanie Norris on a charge of reckless child endangerment connected to her tenure at the school and the allegations that have emerged recently. What were your thoughts on that move to see a leader at the school from when you were a student there and were experiencing alleged abuse?
Simon: Personally, it was a incredibly powerful I think message to survivors that they're going to be believed, and it was clear from the Aleta report that she was told multiple times what happened, and that she didn't do anything, and that she needed to be held accountable for her role in that.
I think that it sends a wider message to heads of school and heads of boards and institutions everywhere, that they, no matter how much time has passed, they can't get away with enabling abuse of students or putting the reputation of the school above the safety of students.
Landes: It's been over two years now since you and fellow graduate Melissa Fares came forward to put faces and names to allegations about sexual abuse at Miss Hall's. At this point, what are your thoughts and feelings on seeing leaders, both past and present, either be held accountable for their involvement in this reckoning or otherwise be impacted by it, like Heaton resigning?
Simon: There are certainly times that I wanted the school to move faster, to make more changes, for the Berkshire DA's office to move faster. I didn't think that we would be in this position that we are today, with the former head of school being criminally indicted, with Matthew Rutledge being criminally indicted, with the consent law in Massachusetts having changed.
We, Melissa and I, and the other survivors were quiet for a long time about what happened to us over two decades. I think I learned not just the power of my own voice, but the power of stories and survivors and truth, and that a lot of time can pass, and then when you come forward, even more time can pass. But if you put in the work, eventually it's going to matter, and I think that's what we're seeing now.
Landes: Part of this larger call for institutional accountability that you've been involved in is the successful advocacy for Massachusetts to close this age of consent loophole that previously offered a shield of sorts to adults in positions of power who pursued sexual relationships with students in their care. When you think about the passage of that law and what comes next for this larger conversation, where do you see things going from here?
Simon: For me, the change in the law was really the most important part of this process because I think it means the most for the most amount of people and students in Massachusetts, and for survivors, I stood at the state house at the signing ceremony with the governor and lawmakers and other advocates who made this happen.
It really wasn't just about the legislation; it was also about me telling my own story for survivors, other survivors stepping forward, and people finally listening to us in a way that made actual change.
From what I've heard, the Berkshire DA's office, other DA offices across the state, are seeing increases in calls and tips after the law changed, and that means everything to me. People finally understand what they can report and how seriously it can be taken. For me, if a teenager now understands their rights more clearly, and a district attorney's office is able to now prosecute predators because of that, that's real impact, and that's what accountability can look like when it extends just beyond Miss Hall's, beyond one situation and one case.
Landes: When you think about Miss Hall's searching for a new head of school after what has to be one of the most notable episodes in the school's history, this broader confrontation with a decades-long situation, what would you ask of the leaders of the school and the board when it comes to finding the next leader for Miss Hall's?
Simon: That's really important to me and to the future of Miss Hall's. And for me, it's someone who isn't afraid to tell the truth. Someone who understands that protecting Miss Hall's and protecting students means not just protecting schools' reputation.
I also don't want Miss Hall's to move forward or move backward, rather, on student well-being, diversity, equity, inclusion-those things really matter.
I hope that the next leader is able to build on that. I think that the next leader really needs to understand the history of Miss Hall's and what happened to make sure that it can never happen again, while still also believing in what Miss Hall's can become and believing in its students.
What I would want the next leader to hear from survivors is that they have to listen to students, and they have to listen when what's being told to them is uncomfortable or when it threatens the reputation of the school. The first question can't be how does this impact the school, but is that child safe? Are all students safe? And that has to be the measure of how the school deals with these issues moving forward.
