EAST HARTFORD, Conn —
In the saga of the sudden closure of Stone Academy, students aren’t the only ones who feel abandoned and betrayed. Faculty and staff were also blindsided.
Nursing instructor Teresa Pineau sat down exclusively with FOX61. She came to Stone Academy’s East Hartford campus Wednesday night looking for answers and accountability but she was told to go home, as the school’s top officials refused to emerge from a closed-door meeting.
“They were in the meeting and through the glass door they shook their heads no and told us to leave,” explained Pineau, a part-time nursing instructor at Stone Academy.
Pineau told FOX61 she’s been getting her information from the media.
“I work in a hospital. I get communication and there was none at Stone Academy.”
Pineau was only told to ‘keep teaching,’ but when she showed up to her East Hartford classroom, “There was no copy paper. Some of us still didn’t have books,” she recalled.
Recognizing the emotion from students, she asked the administration if there would be increased security on campus and was told, “no.” So Teresa canceled class.
The for-profit school is run by Joseph Bierbaum whose Twitter profile said his goal is, “having a positive societal impact on lower-income communities.”
FOX61 visited his home. A woman approached the door but didn’t open it and no one answered the questions we shouted.
When FOX61 asked Pineau what she would say directly to school leaders she responded, “Do you really care? What is it you care about? Profit? Do you not want to show up because you don’t want to face these students and know who they are?”
Teresa told FOX61 she was shocked to find out 20% of her colleagues weren’t qualified to teach, but she wants people to know that Stone Academy had some great faculty who continue to support their students, even now.
Not only is the school’s closure being eyed by state education officials, but also by the state’s top attorney.
Attorney General William Tong told FOX61 he couldn’t get into the specifics of the legal strategy, but suffice it to say, he and others plan on holding Stone Academy leaders accountable for what he calls potential ‘cheating’ and ‘fraud.’
Classes at Stone Academy ended Wednesday. The website disappeared Thursday. What remains is anger.
“We're demanding answers,” said nursing student Sashya Cancel.
But they haven’t been able to get any answers from the school's top leaders. “I can tell you right now that we are ready to go,” said Attorney General Tong.
The school is accused of hiring unqualified instructors and falsifying records, among other things. Could an investigation turn criminal?
“It could. It depends on what we find,” remarked Tong.
Stone Academy now joins a long list of for-profit schools that have closed on the heels of questionable behavior.
“We’ve been working very closely with the department of education at the federal level. And the state department of education and the office of higher education to take action against a number of for-profit schools, colleges, and universities. We have seen predatory behavior. No doubt about it,” explained Tong.
Attorney General Tong told FOX61 he is encouraging any students who have information about Stone Academy’s operations that may be valuable in an investigation to reach out to his office.
The website is https://www.dir.ct.gov/ag/complaint/ You can also call (860) 808-5000 and leave a message with your name and phone number. Messages from this phone line are retrieved daily between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
For all other issues or inquiries, please email the Attorney General at: Attorney.General@ct.gov
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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