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Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Superintendent Sends Letter to Parents Regarding Arrest of Teacher's Aide

Dear Parents and UCF Community:

A short time ago the Chester County District Attorney charged Sheri Maufort, a Unionville-Chadds Ford School District parent who was contracted as an occasional substitute para-educator and secretary, with Sexual Misconduct, Corruption of Minors and related charges involving two of our high school students.  She has been arrested and will go through the legal process. We are shocked and disappointed by this news.  

We want to assure you that criminal conduct will never be tolerated in our school district. In this case, after an administrator heard a rumor about the alleged crimes, we immediately called the Chester County District Attorney. We fully cooperated with the investigation conducted by the District Attorney and the Pennsylvania State Police, that concluded with Ms. Maufort's arrest.

We want to assure you that Ms. Maufort, who has worked in our schools on 25 occasions, dating back to May of 2015 (11 days at Unionville High School), had completed all background checks and obtained all clearances as required by both the state of Pennsylvania and the Substitute Teacher Service (STS) with whom she was employeed. It appears that the encounters with the victims occurred out of school, during August and September of 2016.

Though cases like this one are the anomaly, we are committed to ensuring our students' safety and will work with STS (the substitute provider for UCFSD) to conduct a review of all substitute clearances and background checks.

RELATEDDA: Teacher's Aide Engaged In Sex Acts With 2 Students In Pa.

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We take great pride in the quality of our faculty and staff as they are the backbone of UCFSD. They are the best, the brightest, the most dedicated, and this incident is not a reflection on them. Instead we have all been forced to understand that there are predators, and sometimes they invade where we live. Take comfort in the knowledge that UCFSD moved rapidly and without hesitation because the safety of our students is always paramount.

Going forward we will be available to speak to students and the community - in small groups or one-on-one as requested.  Our counseling team is prepared as well.

In the coming days there are likely to be news stories and social media posts about this case. We will direct our efforts on helping our students to remain focused on their education and will remain dedicated to providing a safe and positive educational environment. We respectfully request that you remind your children that the lives of several of their classmates are impacted by these crimes, and that privacy and respect for them are warranted.

If you have any questions or concerns about this matter, please contact me at  610-347-0970.

Thank you for your support for our schools.

 Respectfully,

John Sanville
Superintendent

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