March 2014 Letter from ASIJ Admitting Jack Moyer's Abuse

March 2014 Letter from ASIJ Admitting Jack Moyer’s Abuse of ASIJ Students

April 9, 2015Blog

March 17, 2014

Dear ASIJ Alumni and ASIJ Community,

This past November, we received a letter from a former ASIJ
student detailing sexual abuse by a former ASIJ teacher, Jack
Moyer. Moyer was employed as a middle school teacher from
1963 – 84. Based on other information we have been able to
gather, as well as an acknowledgement made by Moyer to
another affected student prior to his death in 2004, we believe
he engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with students
during his teaching tenure at ASIJ. Following his retirement
from teaching at ASIJ in 1984, Moyer continued as a
consultant for ASLFs off-campus marine science programs
until 2000.

The current Board of Directors and leadership team take these
circumstances very seriously and recognize the disturbing
implication for our students and families, past and present. By
openly acknowledging this sad part of our history and by
offering our sincere sympathy to those who were impacted by
these events, we hope to assist in the healing process. We
encourage anyone who desires to share his or her experience
with us to reach out. Please contact Board Chair, Mrs.
Stephanie Howe Toppino by either calling the school directly
(0422-34-5300 ext 201) or via email at stoppino@asij.ac.jp.

We also take this opportunity to assure our community that
ASIJ is a school committed to sustaining an environment that
does not permit or condone any form of sexual abuse, sexual
harassment, or any abuse of children by adults. To this end,
we will continue to review policies and practices as they
relate to the protection of students. Currently our counseling
programs at each division address with our students about
their responsibility to treat others with respect, their parallel
right to be treated with respect and be safe in their person and
how to report inappropriate behavior. Counselors at each
division will continue to reinforce these messages.

We would like to also announce an ASIJ donation to TELL
Counseling. TELL offers counseling services throughout
Japan as well as a Lifeline School Awareness Program and
the Child Protection Awareness Program. All of these worthy
programs address the needs and rights of children in Japan.
We encourage those in the community who would like to join
us in our pledge to do so by contacting TELL directly at
http://www.tellip.com/index.php7/how to donate/

One of our core stated values at ASIJ is to provide for the
social, physical, and emotional well being of our students. We
believe that a culture of trust and respect is the very
foundation on which all of our educational efforts as a
community are based. As we look forward, the school will
work to continually ensure that this foundation remains
strong.

A recent visitor to ASIJ remarked that our students look out
for one another and are gentle in their interactions with each
other. We are proud of this observation and will continue to
ensure that this culture endures and is the standard by which
we judge our success.

In this day when social media is so prevalent and concerns
with cyber-bullying so paramount, we ask you to be
especially sensitive to the impact your words and posts (and
those of your children) can have on our community.

To ensure that any communications are both accurate and
respect the privacy of our community, we ask that you refer
any inquiries you may receive directly to either of us, rather
than responding yourself.

ASIJ, its leadership team, and its Board of Directors, thank
you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,
Stephanie H. Toppino
Chair, Board of Directors
Edwin V. Ladd
Head of School