LifeWise fires new school director after past sexting scandal with students comes to light
A teacher fired in 2018 from a high school over alleged "sexual and explicit" messages with students was fired Thursday from a nonprofit program that teaches Ohio public school students about the Bible during the school day.
Renee Beck was fired Thursday morning from LifeWise, a Hilliard-based Christian nonprofit that teaches public school children the Bible during school hours, according to Joel Penton, the CEO of LifeWise. Beck was to become a director of a program set to launch in the Firelands Local School District in northeast Ohio, and her hiring was announced in April, according to a now-deleted Facebook post.
Beck had been fired from her previous job in 2018 at Loudonville High School, part of the Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village School District, after the board voted to terminate her employment as a result of a "report of her serious misconduct and abuse of a minor student," according to the Wooster Daily Record.
In a statement, a spokesperson for LifeWise said that when the nonprofit first learned about the allegations against Beck, it "immediately placed her on administrative leave and investigated the matter."
"We have since learned that while no charges had been filed and she didn’t have a criminal record, she failed to disclose important information to LifeWise staff about her employment history," Penton said in a statement. "We have terminated her employment."
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According to The Daily Record, The Loundonville-Perrysville board alleged Beck had inappropriately communicated with minor students, and that the communications were of a "sexual and explicit nature." The misconduct occurred both on and off school grounds while the victims were students in the district.
Beck was ordered not to communicate with at least one of the students — a directive she did not follow according to the board and was placed on leave in May of 2018.
The Daily Record also reported that a misconduct letter sent to the state alleged that Beck “received and sent photographs, the photographs of herself being in either an undressed or partially undressed state.”
According to the LifeWise website, paid staff and volunteers are subject to background checks through a service called Protect my Ministry, which provides sex offender registry information, criminal history among other details like driving records and credit history.
The Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village School District district is located in Ashland, Knox, Holmes and Richland Counties and is located around 80 miles northeast of Columbus. According to a court record search of the counties, charges were not filed against Beck as a result of the incident.
A LifeWise spokesperson said that the program had not yet launched in the Firelands Local School District. According to The Morning Journal, a news outlet in Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties, the LifeWise program is set to begin this fall at the district.
"We’re grateful to resolve this matter before the program’s local launch," Penton said in a statement. "LifeWise is committed to maintaining the highest standards."
Firelands Local School District could not be immediately reached for comment and efforts to reach Beck for comment were unsuccessful.
What is LifeWise?
LifeWise Academy, founded in 2018, is a division of Stand for Truth, an event-based nonprofit ministry with a mission to reach public school students. It offers Bible education during school hour that is off school property, privately funded and parent-permitted, often during an elective class period.
The Dispatch previously reported that over 30,000 public school students nationwide are enrolled in the program.
More: LifeWise taking over Hilliard scuba facility as religious nonprofit sees rapid growth
In the United States, school districts may offer the option of released time for religious instruction in compliance with the 1948 U.S. Supreme Court case, McCollum v. Board of Education and the 1952 decision, Zorach v. Clauson, The Dispatch previously reported.
The curriculum promises to teach students the entire Bible in five years, according to the LifeWise website.
LifeWise is currently suing a former Ohio man for copyright infringement, claiming he improperly uploaded and shared proprietary instructional materials with families, The Dispatch previously reported. The man volunteered to become a LifeWise instructor, and during his training, he gained access to the company's entire curriculum and eventually copied the materials onto his personal computer and shared them online.
According to the lawsuit, LifeWise told Parrish to remove the materials, calling his actions: "willful copyright infringement involving registered copyrighted works obtained by deceit."
LifeWise is also currently rennovating a former Hilliard scuba-diving facility once home to an 18-foot deep pool, which will become the headquarters for the nonprofit when completed, The Dispatch previously reported. LifeWise purchased the former Aquatic Adventures building located by Interstate 270 off Cemetery Road in Hilliard for nearly $3 million.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: LifeWise fires director after past alleged sexting scandal with minors