Complaint Review: Whitinsville Christian School; Beth Allen - Whitinsville Massachusetts

Beth Allen, sole guidance counselor for WCS has been beyond unprofessional in a botched training session for an internship. She was hostile, insulting, played head games and was totally ignorant concerning training strategies for success in mental health and guidance aspects of counseling. She had never trained an intern before and her performance was so poor that the college actually dropped her mid-term without telling her-after trying to reason with her concerning proper professional attitude and training. Behind closed doors she was mean-spirited and in the end; ill-willed and malicious, as emails to the university reveal.

The noble purpose and highest aim of an internship is for the supervisor to train the internwho is by definition a colleaguein such a manner and degree of respect that the intern could be confident in stepping into the supervisors role. The economic goal is licensure, without which, meaningful employment cannot be secured. In contrast to these goals, Beth Allen showed utter contempt for this intern, an older adult who had taught for years in public school, all with excellent reviews. This interns family had attended the school, paying almost $100,000 in tuition over the years in addition to donating many hours of volunteer work toward fundraisers. Instead of accepting this candidate as a colleague, she uttered threats frequently and created an atmosphere of fear and harassment beginning about a month into the internship. In addition, there was never any mentoring, modeling or explanations. Head games were played continually involving this intern having to guess what Mrs. Allen would want. Even so much as a question or alternate opinion by this intern would elicit a contemptuous and often furious response instead of a productive discussion.

Midway into the internship, the university called and told the intern that they were dropping Mrs. Allen from her role as trainer/supervisor. The university did not inform Beth Allen of her elimination so the intern could finish up any projects with the school staff and look for an internship elsewhere.

On the last day of the internship period, Beth Allen stated flatly, I never wanted you here, a statement that certainly was no surprise. At this point the intern reported her misconduct to the high school principal, who requested a full written report. When Beth Allen was informed of the universitys actions (elimination as supervisor-which took place two months before) she retaliated against the intern, instead of accepting responsibility for her poor performance. The intern authored a complete and truthful report to the school and university that exposed in great detail most of what happened and what was observed at WCS. Beth Allen was relentless in her pursuit to blame everyone else for her failure. This pursuit included a phone call to the university ranting and blaming them and the intern. She was not open to any constructive criticism or alternate opinions. Now that this intern has done in-depth research, he can say with certainty that almost none of her training duties, such as having the intern hand out flyers and spend most of the time closed up in a room reading, qualify as on-the-job training for counseling the lives of adolescents. If she never wanted an intern, she could have graciously declined and spared this intern much wasted time and thousands of dollars in expenses.

Her actions have resulted in great intentionally inflicted financial and emotional harm. When she could have done good in what is ironically called the helping profession she chose to do harm.

The teachers and the elementary and middle school principals were exceptional, professional, and supportive. The intent is not to harm the excellent but to report injustice and expose the unethical in this longstanding institution. This intern strongly suggests that in addition to restitution for the cost of the internship and associated costs, that Mrs. Allen issue a full apology to this intern and to the university.