Preschool director placed on leave amid allegations teacher sexually abused students

Washington Hebrew Congregation in Northwest Washington. (Perry Stein/The Washington Post)

The director of a preschool ensnared in multiple D.C. government investigations and a lawsuit has been placed on administrative leave amid allegations that a teacher at the school sexually abused toddlers.

Deborah “DJ” Schneider Jensen, director of early-childhood education at Washington Hebrew Congregation in Northwest Washington, was placed on paid leave Monday, according to temple spokeswoman Amy Rotenberg. Jensen was already planning to leave the school at the end of the academic year.

Jensen was named in a lawsuit filed last week alleging that reports of potential abuse by a preschool teacher had been ignored. Eight families whose toddlers attended the preschool filed the lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court. The families that filed the legal action are not identified in the document and, according to the attorney for the parents, decided to remain anonymous to protect their children’s privacy.

“Her leave of absence does not mean Washington Hebrew agrees with the allegations, but it is the appropriate — and standard procedure — thing to do until the issues are resolved by the appropriate authorities,” Rotenberg said.

Reached by telephone Thursday, Jensen said she was unable to comment about the case or about being placed on leave.

The parents’ lawsuit alleged that the teacher — whom The Washington Post is not naming because he has not been charged with a crime and was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit — took 3- and 4-year-old boys and girls to remote areas on campus and sexually abused them. At least seven toddlers were abused by the teacher, who is named in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

The D.C. attorney general’s office, which has criminal authority over the District’s child-care licensing regulations, confirmed last week it is investigating the school. The office also enforces the city’s mandatory reporting laws, which state that school officials, teachers and other workers who care for children are legally obligated to report suspicions of sexual abuse to government officials.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the agency that oversees early-childhood development centers, confirmed it has also opened an investigation.

In August, D.C. police launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the preschool. That review is ongoing and no charges have been filed, authorities said.

Rotenberg said that as soon as Washington Hebrew learned of the allegations in August, it reported them to law enforcement and child protective services. She said the school removed the teacher from campus and prohibited him from entering school facilities.

She said the school has provided counseling resources to families and additional faculty training.