** Update: 1/3/08 – In reading the print version of the story in this morning’s Winston-Salem Journal I found more information that wasn’t in the early edition of the story on their website yesterday. Apparently there’s a very real possibility that Mr. Snow will be returned to the classroom according to schools Superintendent Don Martin. (I also might have missed it my reading of the earlier version, but I don’t think so). Either way I think that’s great news.**
Lewisville science teacher Alan Snow was accused of improprieties twice last school year. The first accusations were leveled in October, 2006 and he was suspended for a couple of months before being cleared and returned to work in early 2007. Then just weeks before the end of school he was accused again in May, 2007 and suspended on June 1. By law the suspension could only last 90-days (see August 19, 2007 article) so the school system had to either return him to work or let him go. The risk in letting him go was that if he was cleared of charges then he could sue the school system for wrongful termination, and the risk in returning him to work was that if the allegations were substantiated then the school system would have some very upset parents who would accuse the school system of putting their children at risk unnecessarily. The school system’s solution was to give him a job as a kind of floating advisor within the school system, a job that they assured parents would limit his exposure to students.
Today the Winston-Salem Journal is reporting that 22nd District DA Garry Frank is not going to charge Mr. Snow with anything and the case will be closed due to insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr. Snow. In September Mr. Frank was asked by Forsyth County DA Tom Keith to take over the investigation.
I think there are a few questions that need to be addressed by the school system:
- Will Mr. Snow be allowed to return to teaching? If not, then they need to explain why a person who has been accused of something yet has not been proven to have done anything wrong can be denied the furtherance of his career. Sure he still has his job, but that’s like saying that an executive at a Fortune 500 company still has a job after being involuntarily transferred to the mail room. He might still have a job but he’s lost his career.
- What kind of procedure, if any, is the school system going to implement to better protect teachers and other staff from false allegations while keeping the children’s safety a priority?
- Is the school system going to investigate those that accused Mr. Snow? Some have said that the first allegations against Mr. Snow were made by teachers who didn’t like him. Were they investigated or censured in any way? If the accusations were made by fellow teachers shouldn’t their names also be made public? Why should they be protected by anonymity? Obviously if allegations were made by children they should remain anonymous.
- Is there anything the school system can do to speed up the investigation process? For those keeping score Mr. Snow has had to wait about 7 months to be cleared of these latest allegations. My understanding is that the school system turns these investigations over to the sheriff/DA and
then waits for results before proceeding with their own
investigations. The sheriff says that his office has higher
priorities like investigating murders. The result is that the teacher being
investigated is in the horrible position of being publicly accused of
something that is only vaguely hinted at, knowing full well that
everyone in the community is assuming the worst, and with no recourse
other than to wait to be charged or cleared. - Why do they not detail the allegations publicly? I suspect they think they are protecting the rights of the teacher and the accuser, but I think that they do more harm than good. If the details aren’t provided then the public is naturally going to assume the worst. On the other hand maybe it is a good idea to leave the details out, but do they or can they allow the accused to opt for the release of the details? At least that way if the person is accused of cursing out a student rather than touching them inappropriately he can get that information out there so no one looks at him as a child molester when he goes to the grocery store. Since the accuser’s name is not provided at all there’s no risk to that person either way.
For some background here’s links to articles in the Winston-Salem Journal and items on this blog about Mr. Snow’s charges:
Winston-Salem Journal
10/31/2006 – Lewisville Science Teacher, Principal Suspended with Pay
12/14/2006 -School Misconduct Probe Ongoing
12/30/2006 – Principal of Lewisville Elementary to Return After 2-Month Suspension
1/17/2007 – Parent Confronts Board About Plans for Teacher
1/18/2007 – Suspended Lewisville Teacher to Return to Work
6/1/2007 – Teacher Suspended for Second Time
8/30/2007 – Suspended Teacher Gets Transfer to Non-Classroom Job
1/2/2008 – Suspended Lewisville Teacher Will Not Be Charged With Crime
Discover more from Befuddled
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Befuddled 
Jon,
You make some excellent points, and I would like to think that the school system would learn from a situation like this, but I have failed to see any move in that direction. As to your questions:
Will Mr. Snow be returned to teaching?
I think he will be given that opportunity, however with some of the same individuals in place at Lewisville who accused him falsely last fall, it certainly seems like an “out of the pot and back into the frying pan” situation for Mr. Snow. I totally understand Mr. Snow wanting to go back and face the people who accused him and stand tall as if to say “You can’t take me down with your lies”. At the same time, many people believe that the same individuals were involved “behind the scenes” in the second allegation. And, if that is the case, then what prevents them from doing the same thing all over again? It’s a tough call for Mr. Snow. The individuals who made the first allegation should be asked to leave and Mr. Snow go back.
One thing that might prevent another allegation from coming forward is the scrutiny that our esteemed District Attorney’s office faced during their investigation of the second allegation. Some have suggested that the entire investigation had to be turned over to another county because folks in the DA’s office were seen as a “little too close to the case”—some have even suggested they were somehow tied to the teachers who came up with the allegations in the first case. Can you say obstruction of justice?
You may ask yourself why? Why would a DA’s office do such a thing? Well, it all goes back to the on-going feud that the school system has had with local authorities. There have been too many past incidences of issues “swept under the rug”, and in the post “Robert Watson environment”, the DA’s office probably said to themselves—“we are not going to let the school district let another one be “hushed up’. The only problem is: the DA’s office picked the wrong case to make the school district pay for all its past indiscretions!
So, that brings me to your next question: What kind of procedure is the school system going to implement to better protect staff from false allegations? I have seen no evidence other than the continuation of the policy:“You are Guilty until proven innocent”. It is all in the name of protecting children—which of course is the priority! However, because the school system is still paying for its past –mainly “sweeping allegations under the carpet”, it has backed itself into the corner of almost having to be hyper vigilant so they don’t look like they are “soft on crime”. So, the answer so far is there is no protection at this point from people who make false allegations. All people are saying are things like: “the truth will set you free”. Well, try that if you are the person being falsely accused. Try being a man in the school system where double standards exist!
As for the school system investigating those who have made the accusations or censuring them in some way, little has been done. In the first allegation made against Mr. Snow, one of the involved accusers had to leave the school system for reasons still unexplained. The school system did not seem to mind sweeping that one under the rug, and funny that the DA’s office did not seem to mind either. It makes one wonder? Well, that person’s behavior speaks for itself and certainly added to the idea that the whole first allegation was from the minds of unstable persons. The other accuser remains at the school, and I agree that their name should be made public. Mr. Snow has more class than to do that, but I still wonder if her background were investigated like Mr. Snow’s what would come out?
Your next question: What can the school system do to speed things up? Well, in the school system’s defense, I really don’t think they were totally to blame for the slowness of the investigation, I truly believe it was the DA’s office wanting to find something because they had invested so much in making this case the poster case for “setting the school system right” for their past indiscretions. Therefore, the DA’s office tried to uncover every possible rock, and again, those too close to the case, ended up causing it to go outside the county—thus the huge delay in this second allegation investigation.
And your last question: should the allegations be made public? If there is no evidence to charge, I say absolutely not! Again, it goes back to the point anyone can say anything and it be investigated. I can say I saw you attempt murder today. Well, I said it, and it is investigated, it proves totally false. But, later the press says: “So, and so was accused of murder”. Some people will only hear that and not hear the rest of the story, and that will stick in people’s minds. And, for ever that person’s reputation is tarnished. Is that how we want to operate?? I don’t think so.
These are age old questions.
I do believe the school system could have better handled them if they were not operating “with their backs up against the wall.” The public is to blame as well because we live in a tabloid news/rumor driven mentality society, and the result can be cases like these and the Duke Lacrosse case. Thankfully, there are checks and balances, and if you have a million dollars like in the Duke case, you can defend yourself and get real results like happened in Durham. If you don’t have much money and you are living on a teacher salary, you are at the mercy of the powers that be 😦
Jerry
Thanks for the comment Jerry. In particular thanks for addressing each question. You make a very strong case for not having the charges made public, and in thinking about it I guess I agree with you. During this whole thing I kept thinking that if the charges weren’t the “worst case” that most people assumed they were then Mr. Snow would benefit from that coming out, BUT if he wanted that to be known then he could have revealed that information himself. So really the best policy is to keep the specifics of the allegations under wraps until an official charge is made.
In some of your comment I see some background that I had not heard or read before. I had no idea the DA had turned over the case to a counterpart in another county, so your conjecture about why that happened hadn’t even occured to me. Also, I’ve heard almost nothing about those that accused Mr. Snow other than they were people who did not like him and were jealous of him. Because a man’s career and peace of mind have been harmed to a great degree I think that at a minimum there should be an investigation of the accusers and a report made to the citizens of Forsyth County about what happened, how it was handled and then recommendations made for the handling of similar instances in the future. Maybe they can’t reveal the accusers’ names, but at a minimum the school system should take every measure to insure that something like this is handled better in the future.
And finally I agree that Mr. Snow should be given every opportunity to return not just to teaching, but to teaching at Lewisville. To help insure that he isn’t falsely accused again I think the school system should seriously consider transferring out of Lewisville every staff person who lined up against Mr. Snow.
Thanks again for the comment.
As a male teacher in WS/FCS for several years, I feel as though this case has much wider implications than just the outcome for Mr. Snow. As a teacher I feel completely helpless that a student might say something like this if I give them a bad grade, discipline them, etc. I see issues of a child’s reliability and honesty come up often at an early age. Some students are untruthful about being late for class, about why they did not do their homework, etc. Granted, experts would say that students rarely lie about issues like have been alleged in this case, though there certainly have been famous examples where children have lied about teachers, and later withdrew their stories. So to say that these are Children and we have to listen to what they say without evaluating their stories is ridiculous! Also, in this case it became clear that folks in the DA’s office had an alterior motive for making this case “stick”. So, perhaps they might have played a role in bringing forth an allegation. Also, in this second case against Mr. Snow, the student involved was apparently involved in numerous incidences of dihonest situations in the school and had faced discipline because of it. So, that information certainly has to be taken into consideration when evaluating the “story” against Mr. Snow. One can not just say children never lie.
Mr. or Ms. Sligo, for your information it was my child in the second investigation and let me tell you my child has never been in trouble at that school, never ever!!! I will also tell you that I am taking your comments with me to my lawyer to let them see the kind of information that you are putting about my family.
Well Victims Rights, that’s interesting that you say you are the child’s parent now. All last year you made several posts under this same name and yet claimed to be just a “friend of the family”. Which is the Truth?
It’s also interesting that throughout your blogs last year you had full confidence in the DA’s office, and now that the outcome has not gone your way, you are going to a “laywer”. It seems to be the “american way”–don’t get the result you want, go to a lawyer. Of course, some might say that this was the original intent all along–to sue the school system? I’m sure that’s not the case, but it sure makes one wonder?
I guess the incidences that the teachers have been talking about at Lewsiville involving a child who was in the office for several issues involving dishonesty will only be known for sure if you are brave enough to reveal your name, and clear the record.
Of course, Mr. Snow may be hiring his own lawyer to file a civil suit for defamation of character. (Though, Mr. Snow does not seem like the type to do that) At that point, I guess people’s names would be revealed.
I would just like to say I think everyone needs to take a step back… yes kids are involved and yes kids lie and get into trouble but does that make it okay not to believe with all matters (it reminds me of when people use to say a girl asked for it b/c she wore a mini skirt. I don’t really think Mr Snow could hire an attorney because these allegations against him have to be proven false…lies…and that has not been the case..the da has said they just don’t have enough to hold a conviction…there is a little thing called victims rights and slander and the above gentleman is violating both by telling details of what he thinks is information about the victim and he is alos bringing in other teachers into the mix that could cause trouble for a lot of people. Also a lot of victims do hire attorneys not to sue anyone but to have an independent outside person to make sure the investigation went the way it should (and in this case it sounds like there is a lot of questions since there were at least 2 times they went after this man) I would ask for an independent review from both sides if it were me… if I were Mr Snow I would like answers and if I were these victims I would want answers and both sides should want to know if the DA’s did their jobs appropriately. Also from what I have read a lot of bad stuff has been written about both sides so hiring an attorney is natural because you want to protect your family and the names of these little children. Maybe this family came to the school with something their child told them not accusing Mr. Snow of anything but only asking for information on what their child said and by law the school had to report it and from then on that family was stuck in the middle period. I have seen that happen families being pawns for the officials to get what they want. From what I understand this is a very emotional cases a lot of RUMORS, HERESAY, etc and I think by allowing these blogs is only continuing the rumors and making more trouble for both sides. In this case we may never know the truth. I am sure that both sides are probably relieved that it is over and if this family really believes he done something bad they will continue to fight and who can blame them it is their child and if Mr. Snow believes this and the other families tarnished his name well he can too continue to fight. But my point mainly is let it go!!!! NO one deserved any of this, its over let it rest and these two sides will handle it the way the feel needed. I am praying for both sides and I am praying for those of you who attacked those families if they are true victims and for those of you who attacked mr snow if he is truly innocent…I don’t know either way but I hope for the best for everyone and I think we all should!!!
To some extend I agree with you, Sherry!, It is time for this case to be laid to rest, but at the same time when someone talks about getting lawyers involved (in my view to possibly continue the nightmare), that definitely has me as a person in the education field concerned. Yes, where does it stop? I am concerned as a teacher who feels vulnerable to allegations when there are no systems in place to protect us against false allegations or even wrongly perceived student-teacher interactions.
I don’t feel as though I was bringing too many specifics of this case to light. But in order to fully understand it; certain basic facts must be brought out. For example, Sherry you imply that because Mr. Snow was suspended twice, that there has to be some truth to the allegations.
I think that argument goes out the window when you know the nature of the first allegation. It is widely known in the school district (but not necessarily in the public) that that the first allegation came from a teacher who made a claim about something she claimed happened or thought she saw happen several months before she reported it. No child was identified. She reported it just after the Robert Watson case broke in the news. Hmmm. To me that might say: Teacher dislikes another teacher, sees what happened in the news with Robert Watson, and then thinks—“Gee–how might I get someone else in trouble the same way?”. Another thought is…if the teacher knew it several months ago, why did she not report it then? Also, why wouldn’t she be in trouble for not reporting it if she thought it was important at the time it happened? Why wait several months?? (teachers have a civil duty to report something they think is inappropriate)
How is that relevant and important to the second case? Well, after the teacher allegation, Mr. Snow is subsequently suspended under great suspicion in the community. His name is plastered on all three major news stations for at least two days. Many in the public assume the worst especially in light of the Robert Watson case. All the while, the public has no idea the vague and suspicious story behind it.
Then after a thorough investigation, Mr. Snow is cleared of the allegation and returns to work. Yet, with the public and student body there is still a “veil of suspicion”. Could you possibly see then where the first case could bring on the second case? In other words, a student has this idea of Mr. Snow because of all that had happened during the school year in the news, etc. and then either comes up with this story or is influenced by events during the year that influence their perception?
So, to say just drop it! Give it a rest, ignores the wider implications for us as teachers—and how easily we can be tossed out of our job and more importantly into the limelight of overwhelming suspicion and assumed guilty by the public. That is what is most scary to me.
My point is: not to say that children deserve to be abused such as Sherry said for wearing a “short shirt”. I am saying that if a child makes a claim about a teacher it must be carefully evaluated and decided if there could be another motive or misperception. If they have a history of dishonesty, then that must be taken into consideration. We can not just throw people’s lives into the media spot light with every “allegation” without also examining the “story”. That’s why I feel as though a teacher’s name should be kept out of the media until an investigation is complete and a charge is made.
I also do understand your point that not enough evidence to charge does not necessarily mean innocent, but in this case, Mr. Snow went through two very thorough investigations with the second one completely reviewed by another district attorney in another county and there has been nothing found to charge him! That has to say something toward his innocence. If I had to go through that and knew I was innocent, I don’t think I would want to just lay it to rest.
For the future, I think the public needs to seriously consider where they are going to find teachers who are willing to work with such a threat hanging over their jobs and their lives. For that reason, I am personally having trouble just “dropping it”.
I am sure many people in the public wanted the Duke Lacrosse players to just “drop it”, accept their public condemnation and accept what turned out to be a wrongful accusation. I’m sure it would be easier for courts, families, and everyone when people wrongfully sent to prison for murder and sitting on death row would just accept their fate. But, when someone is wrongly accused, something inherently strong rises up in people to defend that cause. It might be a similar feeling a parent feels in defending their child against harm.
So no Sherry, I am sorry, but I am not going to just drop the larger implications of this case.