Bad Apples
When Even Teachers Can’t Be Trusted
BY SRIHITA RAJU WITH ART BY ALEX KOZAK
Although rumors have floated around for over a year, the news officially broke on October 14th. I received the article from a friend over text. The headline read, “Former Eden Prairie teacher charged with child endangerment related to alleged grooming.” Sadly, I knew before I clicked the link that my fears I had ignored for so long were about to be confirmed. The pit in my stomach settled deep as I tried to ignore the text, deciding I’d read the article in full later. I was in St. Paul that morning covering a bookstore opening for this magazine, and had been having an amazing time. I didn’t want to sour the experience, so I tried to ignore it and focus on the books in my hand, the joy of those around me, my fraying shoelace, anything else but the text. Once I was in line to check out, I couldn’t wait any longer and began to scroll through the breaking news.
Craig Hollenbeck was a social studies teacher at Eden Prairie High School for 23 years. In that time, he had become a favorite in the community. I remember being a freshman and already looking forward to being a junior so I would get to have a class with him. Beloved by nearly every student who had had him, Hollenbeck had won numerous teaching awards over the years and was asked to speak at graduations and National Honor Society inductions almost every year. He was such a popular teacher that there was even a lottery system to see who would get a college recommendation letter from him, one of the lucky recipients being yours truly.
There are now several articles about what happened, but here’s a quick summary: there had been a student during the 2020-2021 school year with whom Hollenbeck would have private, locked-door interactions during his free period. Texts between the two were discovered where Hollenbeck described “falling in love” with the student. Police also found Google searches from September 2021 where Hollenbeck tried to find out how to delete messages and notes from his phone.
Later, other students came forward to share interactions they had had with Hollenbeck that, looking back, they now see weren’t appropriate for a teacher and student. A relationship that involved things like messaging each other privately outside of school hours now appears differently to a mind that has since graduated high school, especially after hearing about peers’ experiences. I’ve left out most of the more disturbing details, and if you’re really curious I encourage you to look into it with caution, but the main point still rings true: Eden Prairie’s favorite teacher was found to be a groomer.
The Education Department identified a 50% increase in reported sexual assaults at schools between 2015 and 2018. A part of this uptick could be that the 2017-2018 school year coincided with the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, which could have helped victims feel more comfortable coming forward. In the first nine months of this year, at least 269 educators were arrested for child sex-related crimes. It should be noted these are merely the ones that were not only reported, but resulted in the perpetrators being successfully convicted. There is also no way to know how high the number of offenders actually goes. And while more victims are stepping forward, experts are concerned that there isn’t enough conversation about sexual abuse and misconduct in K-12 schools. Because A lot of the recommendations and resources available for victims are typically directed to college students, younger students may not know how to identify an inappropriate relationship with an educator nor how to go about reporting abuse happening at their schools. One of the reasons abuse is so common at schools is because educators are able to easily target students by leveraging information they are privileged to. Educators have access to information on the familial, financial, and social backgrounds of students and are able to get one-on-one time with students without raising any eyebrows. Often, students struggling academically or socially at school have a weaker support system at home, which only makes it easier for them to be groomed. Reports studying sexual misconduct at various institutions found that of all targets, 17% were students with special needs. And what’s even more terrifying is that often parents won’t even realize something nefarious may be happening because they are just grateful that their child is getting extra attention from their teachers.
I often reflect on a journal entry I made on January 25th, 2020. It was the day after the final day of first semester, senior year of high school. A large part of the double-page spread contains scribblings of the advice Hollenbeck gave my class on the final day of that semester. His anecdotes were nothing remarkable, just advice on how you should always strive to keep learning, and to never let the world determine who you should be. Yet, at the time, it was because of their speaker that these seemingly-mundane words meant so much to me. To me, Hollenbeck was the epitome of who I wanted to be: wise, considerate, and empathetic. The illusion of who he presented himself to be affected who I wished to be. When I consider the people in my life who made me realize the value of education and learning, especially when it came to learning about the humanities, it was him.
It’s hard when someone you looked up to so much turns out to be a monster. I find myself wishing that I could split him as a person into two halves. The half that taught me and my friends to be good students and good global citizens, and the half that retroactively shattered all of that. The part that bothers me now as an adult is that I don’t know how to continue to be an open and trusting person in this world. When famous people do bad things, we all throw around the phrase “you can’t trust any man”, but only after the news about Hollenbeck broke did I find myself truly believing it. This was someone who me and most of my classmates thought of as a friend, a trusted adult at school, and even a second father. And while perhaps this shows the naivete of high schoolers, I know that I would likely still feel that same way now, three years out of high school, if we hadn’t found out the truth.
It is important for me to stipulate that I write of how well loved and respected Hollenbeck was during his time at Eden Prairie High School not to speak positively of his character, because of course now I have nothing positive to say about him, but to illustrate that it really can be anyone. It can be the teacher who stayed after school to help you understand that day’s lesson. It can be the man whose speech made you tear up at your daughter’s graduation ceremony. It can be the coworker who helped you adjust to your new school when you first got hired. How can you trust anyone if you can’t even trust your teachers?
With each year that passes, I feel like I learn ten new reasons to be less trusting. Sadly, it seems a part of growing up is realizing that the world can be a lot crueler than you imagined. If this experience has taught me anything, it is that we have to look out for one another. Listen to your friends, and don’t dismiss changes in their behavior for “just a phase.” You never know what could be happening, especially in a world where we can’t even trust our high school teachers. And remember, it is okay to change your mind on people. In fact, I think it is vital to reevaluate how you feel in your relationships. Just because you used to trust and look up to someone doesn’t mean that you always will or should. I want to be able to trust my role models without living in fear of who they are behind classroom doors. So when you find people who prove time and time again that they are truly a safe space for you, make sure to check in with them support each other, both through the good times and through the bad apples.
