Lower Merion teacher suspended for affair with student

An award-winning science teacher at Lower Merion High School has been suspended after one of his former students told school officials that she and the teacher had a relationship while she was his student.

The teacher, Robert G. Schanne, 43, voluntarily left the school after officials confronted him with the allegations last month, according to multiple sources who had been made aware of the details but were not authorized to publicly discuss them.

School officials had previously declined to comment on Schanne's status or the allegations.

But Superintendent Christopher McGinley confirmed the relationship and Schanne's suspension in a letter sent today to parents. He called it "a dating relationship" that had occurred more than five years ago when the student was 18.

The letter did not identify the young woman.

"The evidence does not suggest any criminal conduct by Mr. Schanne," McGinley's letter said. "However, it is absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate for any teacher to have this type of a relationship with a student. Our District expects the highest standards of conduct from its employees, including its teachers, and any breach of those standards is a very serious matter."

Reached at home last month by the Inquirer, Schanne did not dispute the allegations but said, "I'm not allowed to comment" before hanging up.

Pennsylvania law sets the age of consent for sex at 16, although prosecutors have brought child endangerment and corruption-of-minors charges against teachers who have had relationships with 16- and 17-year-old students.

Public records show no civil or criminal charges have been filed against Shanne. Representatives from the Lower Merion Township Police and Montgomery County District Attorney's Office say they have not been asked to investigate any complaints regarding a Lower Merion teacher.

On Monday, Lower Merion High School Principal Sean Hughes sent an email to parents informing them that another teacher would take over Schanne's classes - Advanced Placement (AP) Mechanics and AP Physics Electromagnetism.

The letter mentioned Schanne's departure before the holiday break, but didn't elaborate except to say "there are no plans for him to return this year."

Chris Santa Maria, the president of the Lower Merion Education Association, the teachers union, declined to comment. So did the union's lawyer, Charles Herring.

Schanne, who holds degrees from Villanova University and the University of Pennsylvania, had taught Advanced Placement physics at the school for at least a decade.

In 2009, his teaching skills won him a national award, the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, from the College Board. He also had served as a sponsor for the school yearbook, according to the district website.