A teacher who was previously fired for making inappropriate comments to students in Jefferson County Public Schools was dismissed again last week by another district for the same reason.
Oldham County Schools officials confirmed that Jeffrey A. Wright, a teacher at Oldham County High School, was fired on March 5. The Oldham Era first reported the story.
Details surrounding Wright’s dismissal were not immediately available. The Courier Journal has requested his personnel records and termination letter from Oldham County Schools.
In a March 6 letter to parents, Oldham County High School Principal Natalie Brown addressed the situation.
“We understand that changes like this can raise questions, and we want to assure you that your child’s education remains our highest priority.”
Oldham County Schools also confirmed they submitted a report to the Educational Professional Standards Board regarding Wright.
Wright was previously terminated from Jefferson County Public Schools in July 2020 after Male High School Principal James Jury asked the district’s Office of Compliance and Investigations to review allegations that Wright made inappropriate comments.
As reported in 2020, Wright told The Courier Journal in an email that he “did not make any inappropriate comments nor act in an unprofessional way.”
Wright was later hired by Shelby County Schools. Personnel records show he resigned from the district after two years, citing child care needs.
Wright did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
A phone number listed for Wright was answered by a woman who declined to confirm whether she knew him. After the newspaper explained it was seeking comment regarding allegations of “inappropriate comments” at Oldham County Schools, the woman did not respond. When asked if she was related to Wright, she said “No,” and abruptly hung up.
A Teacher of the Year’s fall from grace
Wright’s name was not always connected to student allegations. For many years, he received recognition at both the state and national level for his teaching.
Wright began teaching at Male High School in 1999 as a biology, chemistry and physics instructor, according to his personnel file and earlier reporting.
In 2006, his students told The Courier Journal their teacher was “so awesome” and “makes everything so much fun its unreal,” describing how he combined lessons with class discussions and hands-on activities.
“It’s kind of like teacher magic or something,” a former student said in 2006.
That same year, Kentucky named him Teacher of the Year. He was also featured in a Courier Journal story titled “He lights a spark in students,” where Wright described teaching as “more of a calling than a profession.”
In 2012, Wright and his son Adam, who has the rare condition Joubert syndrome, were featured in a New York Times article titled “Laws of Physics Can’t Trump the Bonds of Love.”
Before joining Jefferson County Public Schools, Wright worked as a science teacher at Trinity High School beginning in 1992, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 1995. He also taught science at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School from 1990 until he started at Trinity.
JCPS ‘inappropriate comment’ allegations
State law required that the reasons for Wright’s dismissal from Jefferson County Public Schools be detailed in his termination letter.
The 12-page letter listed five charges beginning in June 2019 while he was teaching at Male High School.
The first charge accused Wright of slandering a student and making inappropriate sexual comments in class, singling out a student and speaking about them inappropriately, making comments about LGBTQ issues, and unzipping his pants and pulling his shirt through the zipper in front of the class. Wright admitted to the zipper incident, according to the termination letter, saying it was meant to illustrate that students could dress however they wanted after dress code changes.
The second charge occurred in August 2019, when Wright was suspended without pay for five days after multiple violations of the professional code of ethics for Kentucky certified school personnel.
In a separate letter from then-Superintendent Marty Pollio regarding the June 2019 meeting about the allegations, Pollio wrote: “You made sexual comments, used sexual innuendo and acted in an unprofessional manner in your classroom. … You admitted to discussions with students regarding sex. … You are not to disparage or mock students. You are not to make jokes at a student’s expense. You are not to make sexual comments, engage in sexual discussions and/or use sexual innuendo with students.”
The third charge came in December 2019 when Wright was temporarily reassigned from teaching at Male High School to Materials Production at the C.B. Young Service Center.
A fourth charge appeared in February 2020 after an investigation by the Office of Compliance and Investigation. That investigation was based on October 2019 allegations of inappropriate comments and other behavior. An investigator interviewed six students who provided examples of specific comments by Wright that they felt were inappropriate, along with conduct they believed was also inappropriate.
Altogether, the investigation documented 10 allegations regarding Wright’s comments that students considered inappropriate.
The final charge involved a due process meeting addressing those 10 allegations. According to the termination letter, Wright sometimes responded to remarks by saying things like “Sorry I shouldn’t have said that” or “That’s gonna get me fired.”
“After the allegations were reviewed, you expressed your frustration at the process,” Pollio wrote. “You stated that you did not know what the allegations against you were until March and that you found out about the investigation from students who told you they were being pulled out of class and interviewed.”
Pollio noted Wright had been scheduled to meet with the investigator in November 2019, but the meeting did not occur after Wright failed to contact his Jefferson County Teachers Association representative. He was eventually interviewed in December 2019.
Pollio cited several reasons for the termination, including “insubordination,” “immoral character or conduct unbecoming a teacher” and “inefficiency, incompetency or neglect of duty.”
According to his personnel file, Wright’s conduct was presented to the Education Professional Standards Board in October 2019.
A move to Shelby County
For the 2020-21 school year, Wright taught physics at Martha Layne Collins High School in Shelby County.
In a letter included in his personnel file obtained through Kentucky Open Records law, then-Superintendent Sally Sugg wrote, “we wish to express our appreciation for the amazing job you have done this year.”
Other records show Wright remained with the district for the 2021-22 school year. In an undated July 2022 letter, Wright was assigned to a “worksite assignment” for the 2022-23 school year.
On July 21, 2022, Wright resigned from Shelby County Schools. In his resignation letter, he cited family care challenges involving his son Adam and acknowledged the difficulty his departure would cause for the district shortly before the school year began.
“I feel as if I am hurting the very people that believed in me and gave me a chance when others would not,” Wright wrote. “I will always be thankful and indebted to you for that. …”
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