Editor’s note: Reports linked in this story include details of sexual abuse. If you or someone you know may be a victim of sexual abuse, confidential support, information and advice are available at the National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 800-656-4673. Text chat is also available online.
In early January, about 200 students from Hudson’s Bay High School walked out of class and marched to the Vancouver Public Schools headquarters, where they protested the district’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former English teacher Shadbreon “Shad” Gatson.
This week, the district released the findings of a two-part investigation into the accusations.
Police arrested Gatson in December on suspicion of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor that took place in 2013, as previously reported by OPB. Prosecutors dropped the case because of an expired statute of limitations.
According to Vancouver’s report released Wednesday, Gatson was scheduled to be interviewed for the third-party investigation in mid-January. He submitted his resignation instead and declined the interview. A few days later, an investigator provided Gatson with details of the allegations and a chance to respond. Gatson declined.
Students from Hudson's Bay High School protested the Vancouver Public Schools' handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a teacher at administration offices on Jan. 6, 2025.
Erik Neumann / OPB
Gatson had a record of questionable behavior with female students, according to district records. Higher-ups in the district admonished him for not maintaining appropriate employee-student boundaries in 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Gatson — as well as the current Hudson’s Bay High School Principal Valerie Seeley and past principal William Oman, who now oversees the district’s middle school — were put on leave while a third-party investigation was conducted.
On Wednesday, district leaders sent a letter to the Vancouver community. They said the findings from the first investigation, based on reports from three former students, confirmed what many feared: Gatson engaged in grooming behavior and had a sexual relationship with a student. The letter also said the district missed warning signs and patterns.
The letter was addressed to VPS families and signed by the VPS board directors: President Kathy Decker, Vice President Wendy Smith and members Sandra Zavala-Ortega, Tracie Barrows and Kyle Sproul.
The directors said these findings have been reported to the state office that oversees teacher certification in Washington.
The second investigation showed that at the time of the incidents, as the board summarized, the district’s system did not provide the necessary training, collaboration or investigative support to help administrators act accordingly.
“Important opportunities to recognize patterns and take stronger disciplinary action were missed,” the board wrote.
However, they said the second investigation also recognized that over the past five years, reporting structures in the district have changed, and systems to interrupt abuse are significantly stronger today than they were when the incidents occurred.
“The investigation indicates we have a safer and more responsive system,” they wrote, “but there is always more room for improvement.”
Students from Hudson's Bay High School sit on a Vancouver Public Schools administration sign during a protest on Jan. 6, 2025.
Erik Neumann / OPB
Vancouver’s owning up to past mistakes is something not every district has done quickly when faced with similar accusations. Educators grooming and sexually abusing students is a national problem.
Oregon’s St. Helens School District — which enrolls only a fraction of the students that Vancouver does — has gained significant attention since this past fall for allegations against two teachers and the response by school and district leadership.
The St. Helens school board last week approved a corrective action plan, which had previously been delayed and came about four months after the initial arrests.
The district had also promised for months that it would release an internal investigation into the claims against the two teachers at the heart of the accusations. Earlier in March, acting superintendent Karen Gray reneged, saying that because the district received notices of pending lawsuits, the report could not be released.
Vancouver and St. Helens are linked not only by similar allegations but also by Steve Webb, the person who St. Helens hired before Gray to serve as acting superintendent.
Webb had a contract through February with St. Helens but left early in January. He was in charge of VPS from 2009 to 2021. It’s unclear whether Webb was informed about Gatson’s alleged conduct when serving as VPS superintendent, according to reporting from OPB earlier this year.
Vancouver district leaders wrote in the recent community letter that they plan to take several steps moving forward, building on the changes they’ve made over the past five years. These include better fact-gathering in unclear reports, better tracking and documentation of concerns, more training for staff and administrators, more communication and education on boundaries for students, as well as a review of past records.
“Please know that every day we try to improve a little more over what was in place yesterday,” the board leaders wrote. “We want to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and, most importantly, to the safety of every student in our care.”
Read the investigation into Gatson’s conduct here. Read the investigation into Vancouver’s systems here.