Washington school admits ‘room for improvement’ after investigating teacher sexual misconduct

The city of Vancouver in Washington is reeling after its school district released a letter concerning teacher sexual misconduct in one of its high schools.

“District leaders … confirmed what many feared: (Shadbreon) Gatson engaged in grooming behavior and had a sexual relationship with a student,” wrote Natalie Pate for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). “The letter also said the district missed warning signs and patterns.”

Police arrested Gatson, a former English teacher at Hudson’s Bay High School (HBHS), in December.

However, the case against him – suspicion of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor – was dropped according to the statute of limitations, as the misconduct reportedly occurred in 2013. 

Gatson has since submitted his resignation and declined to be interviewed for a third-party investigation, according to OPB.

Vancouver Public Schools (VPS) sent a letter March 19 “addressed to VPS families” acknowledging a lack of “training, collaboration, or investigative support” to deal with the incidents surrounding Gatson. 

“Important opportunities to recognize patterns and take stronger disciplinary action were missed,” the board wrote. “The investigation indicates we have a safer and more responsive system, but there is always more room for improvement.” 

Student protest 

An estimated 200 students from the high school – which serves approximately 1,200 students – protested in January against the district’s management of the allegations, according to OPB. 

“We’re angry that somebody that should be standing up for our school and protecting us as students didn’t at all, and hid a threat and let them work in the school,” said Lucius Austin, a junior. 

Protesters highlighted Gatson’s “questionable behavior” with female students, with district records showing he received multiple warnings from school staffers in 2013, 2014 and 2017. 

“I think the kids are just at a loss,” said Stevie Green, who has three children in the district. “They decided that this was the best way that they could voice their opinions and frustrations today, and I just wanted to be here today to show them that there are adults that are trustworthy and that there are adults that support them.” 

Meanwhile, OPB drew parallels between VPS and the St. Helens School District in Oregon, “where a choir teacher and a math teacher are facing a number of sexual abuse charges.” 

“As a result of those allegations, the St. Helens School District hired former Vancouver Public Schools Superintendent Steve Webb as acting superintendent in November,” Erik Neumann wrote, noting the previous superintendent had been placed on leave after concerns he had failed to report the alleged abuse. 

“Webb was in charge of VPS from 2008 to 2021. He retired early in 2021, but the reason for his departure was not disclosed. It’s unclear whether Webb was informed about Gatson’s alleged conduct when serving as superintendent in Vancouver.” 

The third-party report from Haggard & Ganson LLP criticized HBHS for falling short in its “quality of investigations, appropriateness of discipline, and collaboration and sharing of information” regarding Gatson. 

“The system failed, in part, because protocols were not in place to foster communication and collaboration between the building and district administrators,” concluded Kathleen Haggard in the report, dated March 18. 

“Witnesses reported that in the past, the district was a top-down, hierarchical structure where superiors could not be questioned. Rather, if the Executive Director of Human Resources told a building administrator that minor or no discipline was warranted, that is what they did. The records do not reflect much, if any, collaboration between HBHS and human resources.”