Sign up to receive emails here.

Feb. 22, 2025 UPDATE

Here are the results of our survey on how confident parents are feeling about the current Board’s ability to lead the school in a positive direction We had only 68 people fill it out, so that is not a great sample. See the graphs below for the most pertinent results. There were a lot of great suggestions about how to move forward. Unfortunately, the current Board leadership seems to be digging in their heels. We are still considering next steps. Feel free to reach out to us at any time at usnparentunion@usnparentunion.com.

Who are we?

We are a group of USN parents who love the school and want it to live up to its values and mission so that our children can thrive.

What do we want?

The Board held a series of community meetings between January 23 and January 27, 2025, to inform the community of how they plan to rebuild trust and improve governance. Many of us were disappointed in both the presentation and the responses to our questions. We feel the Board cannot rebuild trust with the same leaders who failed us repeatedly over the past year and got us into this situation in the first place. We also want detailed, transparent communication about the specific actions they are taking to fix the numerous deficiencies outlined in the Barnes and Thornburg report. Recommendation no. 1 of that report was, “Be transparent with the USN community,” and no. 9 was,” Listen to the concerns of the community.” They are already failing at both.

Why are we concerned?

Last May, a high school student accused a teacher of sexual harassment. The school responded by terminating the teacher, telling families only that he “violated school policies.”

We now know, thanks to a lawsuit, that USN agreed to pay the teacher a severance of around $28,000 and to not mention the allegations to any prospective employer. The severance agreement reads: “USN only will provide your dates of employment and position held.”

Below is a brief account from the student about her terrible experience around reporting the issue to USN and a longer letter from her attorney to the Board of Trustees that outlines her allegations and concerns in detail. Student’s letter to the Board Attorney’s letter to the Board

How did the school respond?

September 10, 2024

Two-and-a-half weeks after receiving the letter from attorney Alex Little outlining the investigation missteps, administration’s poor treatment of the student, and the devastating emotional impact this has had on her and other students, the USN Board of Trustees sent a letter signed by President Eric Kopstain to the USN community.

Among its claims:

Administrators’ top concern was the well-being of the student.
The Board was engaged in this process and believes the investigation was handled professionally and appropriately.

September 13, 2024

After receiving outraged letters and phone calls, the Board was forced to backtrack three days later. A second letter claimed that “new information” had come to light that was now requiring a second investigation, this time with a new law firm.

September 20, 2024

Another letter was sent, this time from a new Ad Hoc Committee for School Safety (composed of Board members and ex-officio members, 5 men and 2 women) that apologized for how the misconduct allegations were handled. It also introduced the idea of a task force to help formulate how to respond to similar situations in the future.

September 26, 2024

After the faculty took a vote of “no confidence” in the continued leadership of Amani Reed, Quinton Walker, and Eric Kopstain, the Ad Hoc Committee sent a second email. Although not all faculty voted, the results were telling.

Director Amani Reed: No Confidence: 92 , Confidence: 5 , Abstain: 15 , TOTAL: 112
Dr. Quinton Walker: No Confidence: 78 , Confidence: 12 , Abstain: 22 , TOTAL: 112
Eric Kopstain: No Confidence: 78 , Confidence: 6 , Abstain: 28 , TOTAL: 112

In addition, more than 250 parents signed a letter of no confidence.

Despite all of this, the Ad Hoc Committee said that the Board will continue to “work in close partnership with USN Director Amani Reed and senior administration.” Eric Kopstain is one of seven members of the Ad Hoc Committee.

October 4, 2024

In response to concerns about the independence of the new investigation, the Ad Hoc committee sent a new email. This linked to a letter from the new attorneys at Barnes and Thornburg.

January 7, 2025

The Ad Hoc Committee announced that the Board of Trustees had met the previous evening and voted to terminate Amani Reed as director. They also released the report and an executive summary. The report was highly critical of both Mr. Reed and the Board.

January 19, 2025

The Ad Hoc Committee sent an email advising parents that Amani Reed has sued the school. His lawsuit seeks $22 million in damages. (Here’s the contract filed with the lawsuit as an exhibit.)

What can you do?

You can sign up to receive emails here.

You can reach out to us with any questions, comments or concerns here.

If you would like to send your own letter to the Board of Trustees, there is no group email address that we are aware of. You must send to each individual on the Board. Reach out to us if you need help doing this.