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
About 200 students from Hudson’s Bay High School walked out of class on Monday and marched to the Vancouver Public Schools headquarters, where they protested the district’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against English teacher Shadbreon Gatson.
Gatson was arrested in December on suspicion of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor that took place in 2013. Prosecutors dropped the case last month because of an expired statute of limitations.
Gatson had a record of questionable behavior with female students, according to district records. He was admonished by higher ups in the district for not maintaining appropriate employee-student boundaries in 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 – are on leave while a third-party investigation is being done.
“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 at Hudson’s Bay.
Stevie Green, who has three kids in the district, attended the Hudson Bay protest to say that both students and parents have been kept in the dark about a history of misconduct.
“I think the kids are just at a loss. 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,” she said.
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
The situation at Hudson’s Bay echoes nearby allegations of school sexual abuse in Oregon at St. Helens School District, 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 after St. Helens Superintendent Steve Stockwell was placed on leave due to concerns he had failed to report alleged sex abuse to law enforcement. 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 Gadson’s alleged conduct when serving as superintendent in Vancouver.
In a statement, Vancouver Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Snell wrote that the district is hoping to take action after the third-party investigation into Gatson is complete. He said the district is also conducting a review of previous investigations and internal processes.
“Students should be able to feel safe, and when the trust they place in their school is violated, we should all be angry,” Snell said.
Green, the Hudson’s Bay parent, remains skeptical about the district’s administration, even in light of the increased transparency from officials in recent weeks.
“I want to hope that they’re going to make good choices going forward,” she said, “but I don’t think they’re going to do that without a big push.”