North Kingstown Teacher To Resign At End Of Year After Middle School Stalking Allegation

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — A middle school teacher in North Kingstown Public Schools will avoid being fired after agreeing to resign at the end of the school year, following accusations that they stalked a pre-teen girl.

The middle school teacher, whose identity was not released, agreed to remain on paid leave until the end of the school year and will not resume their duties in the classroom or resume coaching, Michael Waterman, the district's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

"The independent investigator found that none of the allegations raised against the teacher or the School Department rose to the level of Title IX violations," Waterman said.

The teacher was placed on leave last spring and remained there pending an internal investigation spawned after a family came forward and accused the teacher of stalking their daughter in 2017 when she was 12 years old.

Also read: North Kingstown Teacher Reinstated After Inappropriate Conduct Probe

Attorney Matthew Oliverio conducted the investigation.

On Friday, the family’s attorney, Timothy Conlon, issued a statement that said the family hadn’t been adequately updated about developments or actions following the investigation.

"We learn this not because of any notification to the family involved, but through back-channel sources," Conlon said in a statement.

Conlon also questioned if anything will be done to create formal records showing complaints against the teacher so that other districts are aware before hiring them. Conlon raised the concern, as he's also representing a group of former students who accused former North Kingstown High School basketball Coach Aaron Thomas of inappropriately touching students in the "naked fat test" scandal.

Following Thomas' resignation in June 2021, he was hired at a nearby Catholic school, where school officials said they were unaware of the allegations against Thomas. Thomas has since been charged with child molestation and sexual assault.

"What if anything has been done to create a formal record such that subsequent potential employers have notice of the facts and circumstances surrounding the investigation?" Conlon said. "We have one instance of a teacher that was the subject matter of an investigation resigning from NKSD and getting a position in another system down the road. Does NKSD intend to do anything differently?"

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