A national-award-winning teacher formerly of the Petal School District is under investigation for alleged incidents regarding improper conduct with students.
Matthew Hiatt, chief of the Petal Police department, said search warrants have been issued as part of the investigation into Tyler 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. “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. 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 or the exact nature of the accusations against Shows – 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. School administration did not return requests for comment by the time this story published.
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 facilitaged 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.
