The Edmonds School District is investigating complaints that a district elementary school teacher made unwanted sexual advances to an 18-year-old student of Edmonds-Woodway High School. The teacher is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
In April, the high school student filed in South Snohomish County District Court for a protection order against the teacher. At a May 7 hearing, Judge Timothy Ryan declined to issue an anti-harassment order because the student never told the teacher not to contact him.
The teacher does not teach in the same building as the student, and the student is not a minor.
In court papers, the student accuses the teacher of sending him “incessant” e-mails for months, sometimes several a day, including e-mails with photo and video attachments of his students posted on a popular Web site. The pictures were not sexually suggestive, according to the student.
Most recently, the teacher walked into where the student works and startled him into an “unwanted conversation,” according to court papers the student filed. In days previous, the teacher gave him letters his students had written about him, offered him money for college, told him he was “good looking” and made homosexual innuendoes and jokes, the 18-year-old said in court papers.
The teacher first met the student in August 2006, when he visited the student’s workplace, according to court papers the teacher filed. In a brief conversation, the student said he was a high school senior and told of his career plans. The teacher said he had a good friend who might help the student in his career planning. The teacher continued continued to visit regularly.
“In the coming months, I became aware that other employees … seemed to have a problem with me,” the teacher wrote in court papers.
The other employees taunted him, ignored a request for service and gathered behind a door and pointed at him, the teacher wrote. The teacher spoke to the manager and said he was being discriminated against because he was gay.
The manager told the teacher that he made certain employees of his “uncomfortable.”
For the hearing, the teacher gave the court a flurry of e-mails sent in the spring between the teacher, student and the career contact that tried to set up a meeting. The student replied to some of the e-mails, agreeing to meet with the teacher and the other person. In a March e-mail, the student said he had “no issues” with the teacher, though his boss and a few of his co-workers said he should “beware.” The April e-mails show no response from the student.
In his defense, the teacher said he was only interested in helping the boy with his career goals.
In court papers, the teacher described things he had said to the student that he thought were misunderstood.
The student had also filed a report with the Edmonds Police Department saying the teacher was constantly coming to the shop .
The district is investigating the matter, with no set timeline, said Debbie Jakala, district spokeswoman.
“Concerns were brought to our attention and regardless of the source, we immediately look into it,” Jakala said. The administrative leave allows time to do a fair investigation, she said.
“What we are looking into is determining whether this individual has conducted themself in a professional manner,” she said.
She referred to the state Code of Professional Conduct for teachers, but declined to focus on a specific rule. The code prohibits sexual advances, whether verbal or physical.
Jakala couldn’t confirm or comment on the issue of class photos posted to the Internet.
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