Clock Tower Schools News Today

Delaware County Council approves sending juvenile to Clock Tower Schools; Council member says this was a "last resort"

The former Glen Mills campus in Delaware County is planning on a fall reopening.

The district raised issues of staffing, supplies and adequate space to educate students at the currently shuttered facility by July 1, though Clock Tower representatives indicated it would not accept students until an educational piece is in place.

The Clock Tower Schools was granted a provisional license to initially operate a residential treatment program for 20 court-ordered boys — a fraction of the school’s former 400-student capacity.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services reached a settlement that will allow a new reform school to operate at the former Glen Mills School. Clock Tower Schools, under DHS supervision and oversight, can open for 20 court-ordered boys under a provisional license.

Officials say Clock Tower Schools is a new entity, even though it includes people who worked for Glen Mills Schools, which closed in 2019 due to abuse allegations.

Hundreds of students who suffered abuse at a once celebrated boys reform school outside of Philadelphia will share a $3 million settlement, their lawyers said Wednesday.

The agreement establishes two separate funds — one for students’ ongoing education needs and another for damages.

Former students at the shuttered Glen Mills Schools in Delaware County reached a $3 million settlement with the Chester County Intermediate Unit in a class-action lawsuit on Thursday, Jan. 19. The school was abruptly closed in 2019 amid mounting allegations of physical abuse. The agreement will create funds to compensate students who witnessed or experienced abuse, and those who were deprived of a proper education.

The Dept. of Human Services has denied an application from the Clock Tower Schools, which shares an address and phone number with the closed Glen Mills Schools.