Tyler Shows, the national-award-winning teacher formerly of the Petal School District who recently was accused of improper conduct with students, has been arrested and charged with three counts related to those allegations.
Shows turned himself in to the Petal Police Department on the afternoon of May 2, at which point he was taken into custody and officially charged with the following offenses:
- Dissemination of sexually oriented material to a minor;
- Touching of a child for lustful purposes (in a position of authority or trust); and
- A second charge of touching a child for lustful purposes (in a position of authority or trust).
Shows was booked into the Forrest County Correctional Facility after being taken into custody. According to that website, his total bond was set at $125,000: $50,000 on each charge of touching for lustful purposes and $25,000 for the dissemination charge.
The touching for lustful purposes charges are felonies, while the dissemination charge is classified as a misdemeanor.
The sheriff’s office’s website shows that Shows was no longer booked in the facility as of the evening of May 2.
On the afternoon of Shows’ arrest, Matt Dillon, who serves as superintendent of the Petal School District, issued a statement saying that on February 22, a concerned parent of a student in the district alerted administrators at Petal High School of an alleged inappropriate photo involving an employee. Administration then began an investigation along with school police that entailed interviews with students and parents, during which officials learned the allegations occurred off campus.
“During this time, per district procedures, the employee was placed on administrative leave, and while on leave, submitted his resignation on February 27,” the statement reads. “We continued our investigation, following specific district policies and procedures through the guidance of our legal counsel.
“While we are not at liberty to discuss personnel matters, details of an investigation and/or findings, we alert families and staff directly involved with such matters, as we did in this case.”
Dillon said officials turned over their findings to the Petal Police Department on March 1, and also reported those results to the Mississippi Department of Education and Child Protective Services, as is required by law.
“There is no greater priority than the health, safety and welfare of our students,” Dillon said in the statement. “Our district fully cooperated and followed all applicable policies, procedures and laws regarding this case. We have many safeguards in place for students and staff, which continues to be a top priority in our school district.”
Shows was originally scheduled to appear before 12th Circuit Court Judge Bob Helfrich on May 3, but waived that right, which led to his arrest.
In early April, Matthew Hiatt, chief of the Petal Police department, said search warrants had been issued as part of the investigation into Shows, who up until recently taught fifth-grade math at Petal Upper Elementary School.
“It went from being an administrative issue at the school to a criminal element a couple weeks ago, and we’ve been investigating since that time,” Hiatt said at the time. “It’s an ongoing investigation and still is, but things are starting to come together, and I would think that closure on this – either by arrest or the case itself just being resolved – is soon to come.
“(Shows) is certainly a person of interest, and we’re going to do our due diligence to try to protect victims. (Criminal) charges have not been filed, but if it goes in the direction it’s been going, there certainly will be charges.”
No further details, including the ages of the students, are available at this time.
“There are juveniles involved, and right now I’m not getting into any specific actions,” Hiatt said. “But there are things that have taken place that have gotten our interest, to say the least.
“So that’s why we’re continuing to investigate this.”
Hiatt said Shows was allowed to resign from the school district after officials became aware of the alleged incidents.
In October 2022, Shows was named a winner of the Milken Educator Award – known as “The Oscars of Teaching” – during a surprise ceremony at the PUES storm shelter.
The Milken Educator Award, which was instituted 30 years ago by the Milken Family Foundation, comes with a $25,000 cash prize and is aimed at rewarding top educators around the country. The honor – the recipient of which is kept a secret until its announcement – targets early-to-mid career educational professionals for impressive achievements and for the potential of future accomplishments.
Shows was one of approximately 40 honorees from around the country to earn the award that year, and the only one from Mississippi.
Shows holds a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in gifted education from William Carey University. He became a National Board Certified Exceptional Needs Specialist in 2021.
At the time he received the Milken award, Shows served as a grade-level chair and led a professional learning community of six math teachers who work to develop standards-aligned lessons, create assessments and track data. He organized professional development, led instructional rounds and facilitated feedback, and mentored new and pre-service teachers.
He also served as a professional learning facilitator in the University of Southern Mississippi’s World Class Teaching Program, and was on the district superintendent’s advisory council.
