A Barrington High School teacher has been taken off administrative leave and will resume teaching, following the conclusion of an investigation into alleged misconduct. 

In an email sent to BHS families on Monday night, July 22, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Rob Wargo wrote that the district had hired “an external party” to investigate allegations of misconduct by a first-year teacher at the high school. 

“The investigation has now concluded and found that the staff member did not violate Title IX,” Wargo wrote. “As a result, this staff member has been officially taken off administrative leave and will resume teaching at BHS in the fall.”

In April, the district sent out a school-wide email stating that a student at the school alleged misconduct by the teacher. In the email, district officials named the teacher. 

School officials offered a brief explanation of why they released the teacher’s name: “Our letter to the high school community ensured we were transparent, communicating the availability of support through our psychologists and counselors, and providing a clear path for related information for our investigator. This is an active Title IX Investigation and I cannot provide more details at this time,” wrote former Superintendent Mike Messore. Officials later confirmed that the district followed the advice of legal counsel in releasing the teacher’s name. 

Stephanie DeSilva Mandeville, the communications director for the state teachers’ union, would not comment on the investigation, but did share some reaction on the release of the teacher's name. 

“I have no comment on specifics, but I will say: Naming individuals who are the subject of an investigation was not done in the past, and we think it’s a terrible practice and totally inappropriate,” Mandeville said.

The Barrington Police Department also investigated the situation. According to Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia, a school official contacted the department on Monday, April 8, and filed a report about the teacher allegedly making inappropriate comments in front of multiple students over the course of a month. Chief Correia said the teacher's comments included prom dress styles and the sexiest foreign language accents. Police said the allegations did not appear to be criminal.