Councilman says CMS teacher mistreated his son. Other parents are protesting her removal.

A Charlotte City Council member is accusing a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year of mistreating his son in her classroom.

CMS suspended her this month after Tariq Bokhari, a Republican who has represented District 6 in south Charlotte since 2017, alleged that the teacher behaved inappropriately toward his 6-year-old son in her classroom at Selwyn Elementary School.

Police have cleared Lecia Shockley of any criminal wrongdoing after investigating allegations of simple assault that were reported in November involving an unnamed student. It was not immediately clear whether the police investigated allegations involving Bokhari’s son or another student in the class.

Some parents at the school have organized protests defending the teacher and have demanded that she be returned to her first-grade classroom.

But Shockley, who was named Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools “Teacher of the Year” in 2014, may lose her job.

CMS has suspended Shockley with pay, a district spokeswoman said in an email. Earlier this month, the school principal sent a letter to parents saying that Shockley would not return to Selwyn.

The episode has pitted an elected official who says he is trying to protect his child against other parents who allege that he may have received preferential treatment because of his public position.

It has also raised questions about whether teachers are allowed to physically touch students who are misbehaving or refusing to follow directions.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Police Department received a report that alleges that between Sept. 4 and Nov. 22, Shockley aggressively grabbed a student several times. The police report does not say who made the complaint.

The report says that police determined the allegations were “unfounded” and closed the case.

Bokhari said he did not file the police report.

Reached by email, Shockley refused comment.

In a written statement to the Observer, Bokhari said that his son reported multiple incidents of inappropriate behavior by the teacher over several months. Bokhari did not provide details about the nature of the alleged incidents, but said he informed the school principal about the accusations.

He said that he decided to tell the school principal about the problems after learning that another student was treated similarly.

Bokhari said he understands why some other parents are concerned about the impact on their children’s education, but said he and his wife, Krista, “are shocked that they would villainize 6 year old children victims and their families who were trying to do the right thing by reporting what they knew.”

Bokhari said he hasn’t used his position as a public official to influence CMS. The city of Charlotte does not fund CMS, but some Selwyn parents said that Bokhari’s high-profile position may have affected how the school district responded to the accusations against the teacher.

Ansley Seguin, whose daughter was in Shockley’s class, said she has met with more than a dozen other parents upset about how CMS handled the accusations. Seguin said she believes that Bokhari’s high profile affected the school district’s decision-making.

“I was appalled at how this was handled,” said Seguin.

“I have never witnessed such an abuse of power directed at one of the most stellar teachers in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools,” Judy Henion, president of the Classroom Teachers Association of North Carolina, which advocates for educators, said in a written statement. “The result was a stellar, school-wide sought after teacher having her world shattered with false allegations.”

The district would not answer questions from The Observer, saying that state law prohibits officials from publicly disclosing most personnel matters. A district spokeswoman would only confirm that Shockley has been suspended with pay.

Selwyn parents protest

Shockley’s suspension stands in contrast to when she was selected as Teacher of the Year.

At the time, she was praised for going to each student’s home and reading them a bedtime story. She has a day devoted to each student in the classroom.

At Selwyn, parents said school leaders ask them what kind of learning environment their child needs. Some parents said they felt fortunate that their children were assigned to Shockley’s class because she has built a reputation for working well with students with behavior challenges.

“Her communication with parents is impeccable,” Seguin said. “I have thought if she spends this much time on one student, I don’t know how she sleeps.”

CMS launched an investigation and removed Shockley from her class after receiving information from Bokhari and his wife, Krista, according to a Dec. 9 email Bokhari sent to other parents in the class.

“(CMS) determined our concerns were not only credible but required action on their part,” the email said.

Some parents have circulated a petition to have Shockley reinstated. They have also demanded to speak with CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston, but he said he could not meet because the issue is a personnel matter, Seguin said.

Rachel Heath, whose daughter was in Shockley’s class, said her child has been impacted by the teacher’s sudden departure. Her daughter had been eagerly awaiting Shockley coming to read her bedtime stories, Heath said.

She said she and other parents are now struggling to explain to their children what happened.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Heath said. “She’s a teacher who cares.”

Bokhari responds

Emails show Bokhari has tried to reach out to other parents in the school.

Bokhari wrote to other parents that he and his wife had decided to accept an offer from the school principal to move his son to another class, according to a Dec. 9 email.

“We were hesitant to move our son away from his friends, but we saw little option – because at that point it was unclear if Mrs. Shockley would ultimately be returning to the class,” Bokhari wrote. “... Due to the nature of the original issues and given the potential for retaliation, we felt we had no option other than to make the change to keep our son safe.”

In a response to Bokhari, one parent wrote that others did not share Bokhari’s concerns. The parent said they were infuriated that the episode impeded other children’s educational progress.

On Tuesday, Bokhari emailed the school principal and asked if Shockley would be allowed to teach at another CMS school if the district determined she could not come back to Selwyn.

“My wife and I want to make it clear to all impacted by this situation: if CMS’s investigation determined Ms. Shockley committed a fire-able offense, it would only make sense that she would not be allowed to work anywhere in CMS,” Bokhari wrote.

Bokhari also wrote that he was seeking clarity about the status of the case and did not want to be perceived as exerting undue influence on CMS.

In a written statement released in response to questions from The Observer, Bokhari called for CMS to speak publicly to dispel rumors that have circulated about the case.

He said he and his wife “hope stories like these do not discourage victims to speak up in the future.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 8:27 PM.