A special education teacher arrested Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing a mentally disabled Montgomery County student has parents at the school worried there will be further cuts to a program already on the rocks.
Lindsey Froehlich, 26, of Germantown, had been working at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents for two years before she was charged this week with inappropriately touching a 16-year-old student, Montgomery police said. The student was among 80 who live at the school full-time, and the contact was allegedly initiated by Froehlich.
She is being held on $250,000 bail.
The Rockville school for mentally disabled students, which is funded by the state and county, has been targeted for staff cuts as its enrollment numbers have dropped off in recent years.
Parents say the county school system is referring fewer students to the school and worry that Froehlich’s actions could taint its image and cause fewer parents to send their kids there.
“This is so devastating for RICA,” said Selene Robinson, who said her son has shown a dramatic turnaround since he started attending the school four months ago. “RICA has to adjust to the looming staff cuts and now must deal with serious misconduct by a teacher. Parents … may use this incident as a reason for avoiding RICA.”
She and other parents were surprised to hear of the teacher’s alleged misconduct.
“This is an unusual situation and not indicative of what goes on there,” said Karen Bandy, who has a child who attends the school. She added that she hopes the incident doesn’t drive parents away.
The school drawsits daytime student body from within the county, but students who live there can come from Montgomery, Carroll, Frederick, Howard and Prince George’s counties.
Parents said many of the school’s success stories are derived from the close, one-on-one relationships students build with teachers.
It’s that type of relationship that’s helped Robinson’s son turn his life around, she said, and it’s why she’s sticking by the school.
“RICA is not well-known, and many people don’t realize what a jewel it is,” she said.
Examiner Staff Writer Leah Fabel contributed to this report.
