West Jefferson teacher suspended
By Kevin Dye
Staff Writer
A West Jefferson High School teacher has been suspended for the rest of the school year and has resigned as a coach after unprofessional behavior with a female student.
Social Studies teacher Don Hammer was suspended and then resigned as head coach of the baseball team after an incident in the school with a female student. Superintendent William Mullet said that the incident was not sexual in nature, but was inappropriate and lacked good judgment.
file photoDon Hammer
Monday night the Jefferson Local School Board accepted Hammer’s resignation as high school baseball coach, effective May 4, 2012. Mullet said that Hammer has accepted the suspension as his punishment and is regretful of his actions. Hammer is suspended for the rest of the 2011-12 school year and if there is no further action against him, he would be eligible to return as a teacher in the fall.
The information of the incident has been forwarded by Jefferson Local Schools to the Ohio Department of Education and they will review the incident separate from the district. However, based upon the ODE decision and outcome there could be more consequences for Hammer.
“If there is no further action by the ODE, then he would be able to return in the fall,” Mullett said. “But, if the ODE pulls his license it would not look good for him.”
Assistant high school baseball coach Jeff Young took over the head coaching duties in April, after Hammer was put on leave in April.
While I don’t know this teacher as he started after I graduated, this story does not surprise. I attended this high school less than 10 years ago, and there were several rumors, all 4 years, of indecent contact between teachers and students. In general, I felt that my high school was a corrupt, “sports” school. I had a few fantastic teachers (Sr. Liston, Miss Leggett and Mr. Molk to name some) and the rest of the faculty and activities were a joke.
Three teachers in fours years “messed with students”? Where are you ODE? Call in HazMat. This is an environmental hazard. It’s toxic. Decontaminate it. All this common knowledge among students and staff, even outside the community in another county district? Obviously it is a “good old boy” gang in here. Whose looking out for these kids? Who is going to stand up for these girls? An English teacher currently dating a student, known to have inappropriate relationships over the last number of years? Seriously? What literature is he teaching, Frankenstein? Where are the Dad’s? Why isn’t the town gathering with torches and pitchforks? A girl is restrained from leaving his room while he tells her, “he loves her”. The administration has talked to him several times. Is that in his file? A teacher was talked to about having students over to his room at night, alone with students, to watch movies, and was talked to about it by the administration. Is anybody looking into that? If Hammer is getting an “after school detention”, because he doesn’t have the details of earlier transgressions in his file, then is that the case for these other teachers mentioned? Is that why they have this “hall pass” of impunity. These comments imply Mullet is soaking the taxpayers, perhaps then these teachers are able to buy his protection. If the general public has knowledge about this stuff I am amazed the ODE hasn’t taken more decisive action. If the ODE doesn’t have the urgency to deal with it, what about the Feds? Any Fed money feeding this mockery of “No Child Left Behind”. I’m amazed some reporter isn’t all over this. As a West Jefferson taxpayer I am a little offended that my district doesn’t seem relevant enough, apparently, to be given the attention and oversight deserving of serious investigation. Get this distraction out of our school.
i know for a fact, that in this last incident “the dad’ is persuing this iissue and is not going to let it go away until hammer is done teaching. anything it takes is what im told
3 teachers in abou 4 years have messed with students at wj.. what is going on?
on channel 10 they talked abouut hammers personel records were clean….why wasnt “the baseball issue” they had with him a couple years back not in his personel file?And it wasnt one instance …it was lots….be truthful and tell the real story west jeff. the baseball issue was supposedly where he was overcharging students and pocketing the difference. Doent this show the character?
These small towns and their burrows (Midway, Lafayette, etc.) provide small-town living, and thus, small-town problems. You don’t think this stuff doesn’t happen outside West Jeff and London? Places like this have ruined my life. Do you think I want to be in prison? But who am I? Just a drop in the bucket. A loser bred in a community with no ladders, little opportunities, and where everybody knows everything.
If it’s not teachers/principals being pedophiles, its teachers/principals having affairs or dealing drugs. If it’s not our elected officials stealing funds and benefits, it’s our elected officials bending the rules. If it’s not our tax-funded police targeting pre-selected “criminals” and letting others slide with similar crimes, it’s our police officials doing the dealing themselves… in their own vehicles.
It happens everywhere. As a community, we have to move on and pull ourselves up to be better. God knows I am.
I cannot believe how hate Filled London has become. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Oh yeah that is why I left London years ago. Nothing but a bunch of closed minded morons running that town, the school system and county.
Mullett,
1) Makes 125k + retirement + under the table funds.
2) Supports the Elementary Principal which has major personal issues..
3) Live’s out of district.
4) Works 5 hours a day.
Norwood Principal ride’s his harley to work and wears a leather harley coat like he is 22. Is this man reliving his teen year’s? How many tax payer dollars were spent keeping this guy his job while under heavy accusations several years back?
Tobacco product’s are illegal on school grounds yet several high school football coaches dip in class duting school hour’s.
As a former student, i appreciated Mr. Hammer. I was his student aide and never witnessed poor behavior and he helped me through many tough times. Maybe sometimes students take comments the wrong way.
On the other hand, the english teacher which was brough up below has been doing his thing for many years. I am not surprised to hear is “dating a current student”.
Once I left west Jeff, i relaized the town is disfunctional. The good ol boy network, which typically centers around football are the most notorious for rule breaking and cover up.
At least they are doing something! At LHS the people in charge seem to be covering up a similar inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher.
Dave My guess is that Being schooled at London is the reason for your inability to read properly. They said there was no relationship sexual or anything else. This was about inappropriate behavior toward the Student. For all we know he could have flipped her the bird or gave her the Michael Jackson Crotch Salute.
lets see at london he supposedly fired for putting a porn tape in vcr “accidently” than west jeff “good old boys ” hired him….what no background check! Than he supposedly took money from the baseball team……west jeff keeps him …all the while the 44 year old hits on young girls there and nothing is done……. he needs to be fired and sued along with the school discrict..you dont send cards to students nor stop by thier work when you se the girls car at work . West Jeff these are KIDs hammer is persuing and emotionally ruining…
Mullett =
1) has never lived in West Jeff, lives in Dublin
2) collects retirement and big West Jeff salary
3) Principal also collects retirement and big West Jeff salary
Neither of them want a change for obvious reasons, they are buddies with board members so board goes along with this, if you are going to double dip then it should save the district money not be paying normal salaries
As a former student of his – I too, have to say I am not surprised.
Why is only 15 days unpaid? Doesn’t that mean he actually got an extra long summer vacation? What a punishment, and serious waste of tax dollars!
Sounds like your typical small town “good ol boy” system. Maybe it’s time Mr. Mullett steps down? I heard they have a teacher that has been dating a current student for three years. Does anyone know about this?
This doesn’t surprise me at all. He was the same way when he was a teacher /coach at London. Not someone I would want around teaching my daughter.
Only when it happens against a student but not teachers. Right? Jefferson Local has shown that it has to “NOT” be sexual for anything to happen, because we all know how they handle harassment types of situations when it involves a principal/teachers. Nice of Mullett to start doing the right thing. By the way, calling a female student on her personal cell phone and begging her not to leave the district is also inappropriate. Paying thousands of tax payer dollars towards attorney fees because things were not handled appropriately from the start, ordering a hard drive to be wiped because of things you don’t want the community to know. Paying for an auto accident out of a superintendent’s salary so that he wouldn’t have to claim it on his insurance. The list goes on and on, and on. Kind of left wondering though, why you chose this teacher to start making a difference? You had so many opportunities before this that you covered up, manipulated or lied about to save yourself.