POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. — A former Powhatan County teacher who groomed and sexually abused a student is among thousands of educators tracked on a national database designed to keep problem teachers out of classrooms across the country.
Bella Hoffman said she was 16 years old when Andrew Snead groomed her. Snead received an 8-year sentence.
"The sexual abuse occurred at his house, it occurred at the school, it occurred in many different places and areas at the school," Hoffman said.
For the first time, Hoffman recently spoke to a group of teachers, educating them on warning signs of grooming. She said the hope is to educate them on things to look out for and red flags.
"In my presentation, I go through all of the warning signs, and I actually state that I experienced 25 out of the 30 warning signs that I have shown in this presentation," Hoffman said.
Snead is on a statewide list of educators who have had adverse actions taken against their teaching license. The list is available on the Virginia Department of Education website and also includes people who have applied for teaching positions but have been denied.
Jimmy Adams is the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher, Education, and Certification, known as NASDTEC.
"We have found people that have lost a license, and they've now moved into the location, and they're applying for a job in the system," Adams said.
The News 3 Investigative Team has monitored the list over the years, tracking who is on it and why. In some cases, teachers have been arrested for crimes including arson, sexual contact with a student, or possession of child pornography. In other cases, a teacher's behavior may be deemed inappropriate but not criminal — not rising to the level of arrest — yet education leaders determine the individual should not be working with children.
"The clearinghouse allows states to see things that may not have risen to any kind of criminal action. They only rose to the level of an administrative hearing," Adams said.
Every year, about 6,000 teachers out of the 3.5 million public school teachers across the country have adverse action taken against them, according to NASDTEC, which tracks the cases. This is a very small percentage of teachers.
They said not every adverse action results in a permanent license revocation; penalties include suspensions, public reprimands, voluntary surrenders, or license denials. They said actions range from minor policy violations and contract breaches to severe misconduct.
Teachers in Virginia undergo an extensive criminal background check when hired and then have their names run through the NASDTEC clearinghouse.
Adams acknowledged that misconduct cases cast a shadow over the profession.
"Unfortunately, when there are some people who do things that are inappropriate or they violate their professional code of ethics. They tend to overshadow the good work that's really taking place," Adams said.
The News 3 Investigative Team has requested the latest list of names of teachers flagged in the database, as well as those who have been denied employment in Virginia.
Adams said the system benefits both school districts and the communities they serve.
"It really helps that school district make an informed decision about the people they are hiring, and it also helps them to communicate to their community that they are doing things above and beyond doing their due diligence to try to make sure they're hiring the right people," Adams said.
Hoffman is now working on her master's degree in social work.
"I want to be a therapist for kids who have been abused, or in any kind of way, and just really be able to help children and families," Hoffman said. "I think talking about it and being able to express what happened and to help others has really helped me."
Part of Hoffman's grooming involved being given special treatment at school by Snead. She said she would be allowed to leave school property, given special parking and other benefits. She has a message for parents.
"Advice to parents is just really pay attention to your kids and how they're acting, how they're feeling. If you notice a shift, really investigate that shift and see what is going on," Hoffman said.
Hoffman said she would like to continue to give talks to educators about how to stop this kind of problem from happening.
