CANAAN — A female employee was fired this month from Cardigan Mountain School after admitting to having “sexual contact” with a student at the elite all-boys boarding school, according to school officials, who said town police are investigating the matter.
In a letter sent to students’ parents on July 10, school officials said they learned during the first week of July about the allegations against Kimberly Wennik, who was the manager of the school store and the mailroom.
Wennik was confronted by school administrators the same day they were contacted by authorities, and she “admitted this misconduct” and was immediately terminated, according to the letter, which was signed by Head of School Christopher Day and Jeremy Crigler, chairman of the school’s board of trustees.
“We are cooperating fully with local authorities as they continue their investigation and take their next steps,” the letter said.
Messages left for the Canaan Police Department on Wednesday were not returned, but Canaan Town Administrator Mike Samson on Wednesday confirmed that the police department is reviewing a complaint it received related to an employee at Cardigan Mountain. Samson declined to comment further on the matter.
In addition to the police investigation, the school also vowed to partner with an independent investigator to “better understand how” the misconduct went undetected, according to the letter.
Day said in the letter that he was “devastated by this egregious violation of trust and betrayal of our core values.”
Cardigan spokeswoman Karen Schwartzman said Wednesday that Wennik was living on campus when she was terminated and ordered to leave. The letter did not say when the misconduct occurred, and Schwartzman declined to give further details on Wednesday.
“Our thoughts are with the student and his family during this difficult time,” the letter said. “We are sorry for the pain our employee’s actions have caused, and have reached out as a school to express our concern and offer our full support.”
Cardigan Mountain School enrolls boys in grades 6 through 9, according to its website, and has tuition of $36,700 for day students, $63,200 for domestic boarding students and $71,900 for international students. Enrollment is just over 200 students from throughout the United States and countries stretching from Asia to South America.
“This news comes as a shock to a community based in trust and dedicated to the safety and well-being of every student,” the letter said. “Our philosophy is supported by comprehensive background checks for all employees, clear and uncompromising policies, and mandatory annual boundary training for all faculty and staff members.”
Attempts to reach Wennik on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Schwartzman said Wennik is represented by attorney Alan Cronheim, of Portsmouth. A message left for Cronheim on Wednesday afternoon was not returned.
Social media accounts suggest Wennik is the spouse of Marten Wennik, who has been an English teacher at Cardigan for 14 years, according to his biography on the school’s website. An email to Marten Wennik on Wednesday was not returned.
The allegation at Cardigan comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of sexual misconduct at New England private schools, including St. Paul’s School in Concord, which has been investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office for how administrators there handled allegations against students and faculty members going back decades.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.