I was going to write you a fun admissions-season post this week. Deadlines, open houses, which tours have the good coffee. (Curtis. It’s always Curtis.)
But then I read the lawsuit: Two weeks ago, parents filed suit against Viewpoint School in Calabasas — the big one off Mulholland with the celebrity kids. The suit alleges that back in December 2024, two lower-school girls told their parents that their teacher, Travis Shojinaga, was taking photos up their skirts at lunch. Phone under the table. The girls said it wasn’t a one-time thing.
According to the suit, when a parent brought it to the head of lower school, she said she was surprised — quote — “he bats for the other team.” The school allegedly called it a possible “misunderstanding” and never checked the man’s phone.
Fourteen months later, in February, Shojinaga was arrested. The DA charged him with one felony count of possession of child abuse material and four misdemeanor counts of child molestation.
I want to be careful here, because this matters: these are allegations in a lawsuit, not findings. The school’s head, Mark McKee, said administrators went to the police as soon as accusations were made and fired Shojinaga. Both things are on the record. You get to hold both in your head at once. That’s the job now.
Here’s why I’m writing about it instead of the coffee rankings. A week after that lawsuit was filed, Viewpoint announced it’s merging with Berkeley Hall. Starting next year, Berkeley Hall eighth graders get a guaranteed path to Viewpoint — no second application. If you’re touring Berkeley Hall this fall with a five-year-old, you’re also, whether anyone says it out loud, choosing Viewpoint.
Willa is seven. Fourth grade is two years from now and I have done that math eleven times today.
I’m not going to tell you not to apply to Viewpoint. I don’t know what happened — none of us do, that’s what courts are for. But I am going to tell you that “what’s your phone policy for staff” is now the first question I ask on every tour, at every school, and it should be yours too. So here’s my list, stolen from actual safeguarding experts and sharpened by spite:
When a student reports a teacher, who investigates — and is it ever just the school investigating itself?
What’s the staff phone policy around kids? (If they look confused by the question, that’s your answer.)
Is there a written safety policy parents can read before enrolling? Can I have a copy?
Who’s the designated safeguarding lead, and do the kids know their name?
How do you document reports that turn out to be nothing? “Misunderstanding” shouldn’t be a filing category.
Background checks — what kind are required for staff, and how often are they redone?
Ask them brightly. Smile while you do it. Watch who gets uncomfortable, because the uncomfortable ones are telling you something too.
The full reporting is at the New York Post (September 27) if you want the court-document version — I’ll link it below. I kept the details out of this post on purpose. The girls were nine and ten, and they don’t need to be anyone’s cautionary-tale content.
Admissions season is supposed to be about choosing a school. It’s also, it turns out, about choosing the people you trust with your kids when you’re not in the room. Ask the questions.
Sources: NY Post, Sept 27, 2026 (lawsuit reporting); LA County DA’s office (criminal complaint, Feb 2026); Viewpoint School statement via Head of School Mark McKee. Cover-up allegations are per the civil lawsuit and are contested.