2023 Conway Teacher Of The Year Terminated For Physical Contact With Student….But Do The Facts Back Up That Decision ?
Does an out-of-control 2nd Grade boy run the District ?
Jan 1, 2026
On December 14th I put out a short article with video titled “Who’s Running The Elementary Schools In Conway.”
https://arkansas1st.com/state/whos-running-the-elementary-schools-in-conway/
As promised, this article details the findings of the in-depth investigation I conducted into the termination of teacher Barbara Tucker.
Tucker has been teaching for fifteen years and was a 4th grade teacher at Preston Florence Mattison Elementary in Conway.
In 2023, Tucker was chosen and awarded Educator of the Year by the Conway Lions Club….A Hell of an achievement, right ?
But on November 11th, 2025, the School Board voted to accept Superintendent Jason Black’s recommendation to terminate Tucker for inappropriate physical contact with a student, in which he stated she created an unsafe environment for students.
So how did she go from that stature to basically being labeled physically abusive to students by Black ?
A lot to unpack so stay with me.
This all started on August 22nd, 2025, when Tucker encountered a second-grade male student walking down a hall unattended.
Now according to the District, this student has strong behavioral issues and is known as an “eloper”, meaning a student who will run away or escape…. so much so that he has had a Registered Behavior Technician, BRT, assigned to him who is supposed to be with him at all times.
According to Tucker, she was aware of that fact and approached the student because she thought he was running away. She asked him where he was going and the student kept trying to get around her and as she tried to redirect him, the student shoved her arm away, then maneuvered around her into the 4th grade boys’ bathroom but not before hitting her in the back.
Records show Tucker immediately reported the incident to Principal Shannon Black who is the wife of Jason Black.
The two videos of the incident support Tucker’s account. In the first video the incident begins at the 45sec mark.
https://youtube.com/shorts/mojwiT1qkv4?si=I_aLxWI5tSpH-cYt
On August 26th the parent of the student, Monty’sha Kabore, made a formal complaint against Tucker claiming she assaulted….violated….and traumatized her son.
Black sided with Kabore and on October 27th, 2025, issued a recommendation for termination letter to Tucker.
In it he cited several reasons that just don’t add up with the facts.
On the day of the incident, Tucker provided a brief written statement on the matter. Black claimed Tucker was untruthful in that statement.
In it, Tucker stated she asked the student where he was going because he was alone. She followed with – “the student hit me and then ran into the restroom.”
Black stated – “The video showed this was a false statement.”
What the video shows is that Black’s statement is False….Not Tucker’s.
The video clearly shows the student shoving Tucker’s arm and hitting her in the back before running into the bathroom. When they exit, the student takes another swing at her which Tucker was able to dodge.
Black also claimed that Tucker stating that she never “touched” the student was a false statement.
Black stated – “The video showed you initiated physical contact with the student regardless of being told that the student was in an appropriate location.”
Well, the facts don’t back that up either.
In her statement Tucker said – “I never touched *****”
That was in response to the claim by the student that Tucker hit him.
Black clearly took that statement completely out of context.
Now did she make light physical contact with the student while trying to re-direct him ?….Yeah….She did….Just like I will bet every elementary school teacher on earth has done at one time or another directing kids.
I’ll bet Jason and his wife Shannon have both done it and you know what ?….There is nothing inappropriate about it.
When Black stated – “regardless of being told that the student was in an appropriate location.”
That is another false statement from Black.
Here’s the proper context.
The student, who is in second grade, was on his way to the fourth-grade bathroom. According to his teacher, Alison Martin, this was because he wanted more privacy.
Tucker had no idea that the student had permission to use the fourth-grade bathroom….How could she ?
So, when Black states that that Tucker was told that the student was in an appropriate location, that is a false statement.
In fact, the written statement Martin gave the District on the incident does not say Tucker was told the student had permission to use the fourth-grade bathroom and in no way implies that she did know.
What it does do is back up Tucker’s statement along with what’s on the video.
That may explain why Black and District Chief Legal Officer Shastady Wagner did not call Martin to testify at the Board hearing on the matter.
Black cited that the student claimed that while in the bathroom Tucker pushed him against a wall causing him to hit his head.
He went on to state – “There is no video of this interaction, but the student did come out of the restroom holding the student’s head.”
That is another false statement by Black. Nowhere in the video does it show the student coming out of the bathroom holding his head….nowhere.
Oh and if you are wondering why the BRT was not accompanying the student down the hallway, well Tucker was told by Martin it was because the boy claimed the BRT was stalking him, so she doesn’t follow him anymore….I kid you not.
Black brought up in the termination letter that Tucker had exhibited similar behavior before, stating that she had been reprimanded for an incident that took place with a student on November 2nd, 2023.
Okay fine let’s tackle that incident as well.
On November 3rd 2023 a parent complained to the District that Tucker pinched her son and pushed him against a wall.
The incident was captured on video, which was the only evidence in the case.
https://youtu.be/7Q_ya5zCRuE?si=A-gdi8Tt6_i5L7ng
Does it show Tucker making physical contact with the student while directing him ?….Yes….But it doesn’t show her pushing the student against the wall as described or any inappropriate contact for that matter either.
Now that’s not just me saying it, the State Educator Professional Licensure Standards Board, (PLSB), said it as well.
After the incident the District filed an Ethics Complaint against Tucker with the PLSB for the incident.
They conducted a thorough investigation into the matter and found that the allegations were unsubstantiated.
In other words, they cleared Tucker of any wrongdoing.
The reality is that Tucker should never have been reprimanded for that incident and it should not have come into play in the decision to terminate her for the current incident.
Now getting back to the incident on August 22nd, Kabore wasn’t satisfied with trying to get the District to terminate Tucker, no sir not at all.
She asked the City Attorney Charles Finkenbinder to charge and prosecute Tucker for 2nd Degree Assault.
Conway PD investigated the accusation and submitted their file to Finkenbinder.
After reviewing the facts, he did what anyone with half a brain would do and declined to prosecute Tucker.
Oh, and guess what else….DHS investigated the incident as well and they determined the allegation to be unsubstantiated….again just like anyone with half a brain would.
Now is Tucker without any fault here ?….No she is not.
The only thing Tucker did wrong was follow the student into the boys’ bathroom and she fully admits that was a mistake and she should not have done it.
She said she did so to tell him that he could not hit her and that his behavior was inappropriate.
Reasonable to say yes….but she should have waited for him to exit the bathroom to tell him that.
Now that is not what she was terminated for, but would that even warrant termination ?….Hell no.
I could see a verbal warning or at most a written reprimand but termination ?….No.
So how did all seven Board members ignore the facts and vote to terminate Tucker ?
Well, they didn’t ignore the facts because they were not given the facts.
When you listen to the recording of the Hearing and review the Exhibits you find what Black and Wagner put before the Board was full of False statements and narratives.
You couple that with the fact that Tucker’s attorney did little to nothing to expose those false narratives and present the real facts added up to Tucker being run headfirst into a meat grinder.
Now if the Board had been given the truth would it have mattered ?…..Probably not.
Board members Shelia Franklin, Trip Leach, Leona Walton and Leo Cummings have all shown a pattern of going whatever direction Black wants them to go….Kool-Aid Drinkers.
What the evidence has shown is that Barbara Tucker isn’t the problem….an out-of-control 2nd grader and his mother, Monty’sha Kabore, are.
And instead of the Blacks, Jason and his wife Shannon, standing up for their teacher, they bowed to the out-of-control 2nd Grader and set out to destroy Tucker’s career.
In short Jason Black doesn’t run the District….a 2nd Grade boy at Preston Florence Mattison Elementary School does.
#FactsNotFiction
Professional Bully Fighter I investigate and report on issues around the State of Arkansas with an emphasis on Government. I am strong conservative however I bring Truth and Facts regardless of Party affiliation….My hashtag is #FactsNotFiction
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