Smithson Valley Teacher Charged with Having Improper Relationship with Student

A former Smithson Valley High School teacher was arrested and charged with having an improper relationship with a student, a couple of months after a different teacher at the same school was found guilty of the same crime.

Russell Dewayne Hamilton, 27, was arrested on December 22, 2017, and released that same day after posting a $20,000 bond, according to Comal County Jail records. Hamilton was hired in August 2014, and worked as a math teacher and coach.

“The allegations that he acted inappropriately with a student came to our attention on Nov. 28. That same day he was placed on administrative leave and law enforcement was notified,” Steve Stanford, the Director of Communications for the Comal Independent School District told the Current in an email.

Campus administration was notified of the improper relationship by the parent of the student, Stanford said.

Hamilton resigned on December 19, two days prior to his arrest.

“The safety and security of all of our students is of the utmost concern here in Comal ISD and we take all allegations of inappropriate teacher behavior seriously and act immediately,” Stanford wrote.

Hamilton had three five-star ratings (all posted in November and December 2017) on the website ratemyteachers.com, where students can rank teachers in categories including “easiness, helpfulness, clarity, knowledge, textbook use” and “exam difficulty.”