A “cult-like” Boston school fostered such a culture of “blind devotion” to its principal’s misguided ideals that it ignored years of sexual abuse, bullying and neglect of special-needs kids, a scathing report has found. Most of Mission Hill K-8 School’s issues were the fault of its ex-principal, identified by the Boston Globe as Ayla Gavins, who “hid behind lofty goals of social justice” at the expense of student welfare, the report said. In one case, she insisted that a Black student accused of sexually assaulting 11 kids had a right to be at the school and that any parents who objected should pull their kids out. Gavins left in 2019 but she created such “blind devotion” and intolerance of dissent that the issues persisted, and the school has “little culture worth saving,” the report found. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she supported the Boston Schools Superintendent’s call to shut the school down.
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