Douglas Anderson School of the Arts | News4Jax
Published on October 3, 2024 at 12:45 pm
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Duval County Public Schools has settled two additional claims of sexual harassment and abuse at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for $120,000, News4Jax reports.
The district previously settled three complaints for $1.4 million.
The complaints were apparently related to allegations against former choral director Jeffrey Clayton.
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Clayton’s arrest last March unleashed a barrage of allegations about abuse and a toxic school culture. Clayton is serving a 10-year sentence for charges related to touching a student.
The recent settlements, which were signed in August, are related to allegations from years ago brought by two former students. The district has not admitted to any wrongdoing in these cases.
Douglas Anderson allegations
In 2023, attorney Chris Moser sent letters to Duval County Public Schools notifying them she planned to sue on behalf of two clients who claim they were traumatized by cinematic arts teachers at Douglas Anderson.
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One of the former students says she was 14 years old in 2013 when teacher Corey Thayer, who was 43 at the time, groomed her, touched her inappropriately.
According to the pre-suit letter, she was also sexually assaulted by two male students in a janitor’s closet at the school in an attack motivated by their understanding that she was in a sexual relationship with Thayer.
The child’s experiences at Douglas Anderson derailed her high school education, the letter says, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder and time in in-patient treatment, where she revealed the assaults to her therapist.
A criminal investigation by Duval County School Police was closed. The letter says the investigation was ended “at the father’s request,” but the former student’s attorney claims the father never meant for the investigation to end when he told police about how tough it was for his daughter to speak with law enforcement.
Also according to the letter, the school district failed to follow up on its duty to investigate Thayer until the former student’s mother reached out to the school board after Jeffrey Clayton was arrested. Thayer was removed from the classroom in early 2023 as he was investigated. A district spokesperson says Thayer resigned in June.
In August, the school board settled with Thayer’s former student for $85,000.
The school district has implemented new safety initiatives to protect other kids.
Student’s statement
In a statement to News4Jax, the student who brought the claims regarding Thayer said: “I’m glad that the district is finally beginning to listen to students harmed by the predatory environments of their schools after silencing them for so long.
“Though these policies should have been in place long ago, I’m optimistic about the new policy changes that are geared toward making Duval County Public Schools a safer place for everyone. I’m also hopeful that as stories continue to emerge from past students, DCPS will continue to listen, reflect on their policies, and change for their students’ safety.”
The other student received a settlement of $35,000. She accused former Douglas Anderson teacher Nic Serenati of sending her, as a minor, “hundreds of inappropriate text messages … of an explicit and deviant nature.”
The pre-suit letter does not specify a timeline of the allegations, but it does note that Serenati resigned from Douglas Anderson to take a job at Flagler College. A spokesperson for Duval Schools confirmed he resigned. Serenati no longer shows up on Flagler College’s employee directory.
Serenati declined to comment. News4Jax has reached out to Thayer.
The former student who received the settlement involving Serenati is looking to form a support group for the DA community — you can find an informational form here or email dasotavoices@gmail.com.
This story was produced by News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.
