An allegedly perverted special education teacher has been banned from a Connecticut classroom after The Washington Post reported he was under investigation by the New York City school system for inappropriate behavior with students.
Daniel Shields began working in Stamford, Connecticut, public schools in August 2021, the same month that New York City special agents substantiated allegations that Shields had seduced a female student, who was 15 at the time, over a three-year period while he was teaching at a Manhattan school.
Authorities say Shields sent sexually suggestive Instagram messages to the girl when she was attending Maxine Greene Imagination Exploration High School, asking her how big her breasts were and whether she had any piercings, according to the SCI, which investigates misconduct at the city’s Department of Education.
A Washington Post report in May highlighted a structural problem: the records of public school teachers under investigation in New York City aren’t tracked in other school systems or in the cities and states where they work.
When Stamford school district officials learned of the allegations through the Washington Post report, “Mr. Shields was immediately placed on administrative leave,” Christopher Soules, the district’s chief compliance officer, said in an email to parents.
Shields, who did not respond to requests for comment, resigned from Stanford in June, officials told parents.
Parents at one of the schools where Shields worked were outraged that they had not been informed about the allegations.
“We are very, very upset about this,” said the mother of a special education student who was in Shields’ class at Stamford.
Shields held a teaching license in the Stamford School District as of Wednesday, according to the Connecticut Department of Education. LinkedIn Profile He says he is “positive about his work.”
