Audrey Cohan, EdD, is the senior dean for research and scholarship at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, New York. She has been at Molloy College for twenty-six years, during which time she served as professor, chairperson of the Education Department, and interim dean for the Division of Natural Sciences. Dr. Cohan has taught in the undergraduate and graduate programs and is currently teaching Critical Issues at the doctoral level for the EdD program, Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities. She began her career as a special education teacher in New York City working with students with special needs in both self-contained and resource room settings. Her first book was published in 1995 titled Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse: A Handbook for Teachers and Administrators. This coauthored book was an outgrowth of her dissertation work, which focused on child sexual abuse within schools. Dr. Cohan coedited a five-volume Breaking the Mold of Education series about educational innovation with Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles about English language learners including “Differentiating Between Learning Disabilities and Typical Second Language Acquisition: A Case Study” and “Piloting a Pre-referral Data Collection Tool: A Documentary Account,” as she has New York State certification in special education and TESOL. The textbook published in 2016, Serving English Language Learners, earned the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Most Promising New Textbook Award. Her other coauthored book publications include Beyond Core Expectations: A Schoolwide Framework for Serving the Not-So-Common Learner (2014), America’s Peace-Minded Educator: John Dewey (2016), and Team Up, Speak Up, Fire Up!: Educators, Students, and the Community Working Together to Support English Learners (2020). Dr. Cohan is also the principal investigator of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce grant for $1,450,000, which is designed to recruit bilingual STEM teachers for high-needs schools. While at Molloy College, Dr. Cohan has been the recipient of the Faculty Leadership Award, the Faculty Recognition Award, the Research Award, and the Distinguished Service Award.
What constitutes sexual harassment between staff members in schools? Between students? Between students and staff? This Handbook examines these questions in relation to adult-to-student and student-to-student interactions. The authors define sexual harassment and abuse in schools, explain how it can be recognized and suggest ways to create and foster a healthy environment free of harassment and abuse. They also outline the best way to handle complaints and discuss policies and procedures that will be supportive to both staff and students.
