DEPEW, N.Y. (WKBW) — Five Cantalician Center for Learning staff members have been placed on leave following an "incident", the school says.
The school says the alleged incident involves a former student and the staff members. School officials did not elaborate further.
"For special needs and handicap children, we really need to know more than anything what's happening with our children," said Jennifer Benkleman, who has a 15-year-old son who attends the school.
Benkleman reached out to 7 Eyewitness News for answers when she says the school stonewalled her because she asked for more information on the alleged incident. Benkleman says it happened in her son's class.
"They're more concerned with how I found out than addressing my concerns," she said.
Cantalician Center for Learning is a school that caters to children with special needs.
"A lot of these students can't verbalize what happened, how they feel about it or how it affected them," she said of the alleged incident.
Cantalician Center for Learning released the following statement to 7 Eyewitness News saying:
"Cantalician Center for Learning has been notified of an incident involving one of its former students and some staff members. We are working diligently to gather all the facts and investigate the matter further.
As we work though this situation, Cantalician Center has placed five staff members on administrative leave until further notice. The safety of our students and staff members remains our top priority. We take every reported incident very seriously and have zero tolerance for any situation that compromises the safety and integrity of our organization.
Although we cannot discuss details, please know that we are currently investigating the situation further and working closely with the parties involved."
