A California high school teacher has been arrested on charges of “sexual activity” with an underage male student, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to the SB County Sheriff’s Office, 38-year-old math teacher Tracy Vanderhulst of San Bernardino County’s Yucaipa High School was taken into custody Thursday night.
She was booked into the Central Detention Center and is currently being held on $30,000 bail.
Vanderhulst joined the school faculty in 2013 and was recognized as the school “Teacher of the Year” in 2017, according to Yucaipa High School’s Facebook page.
The 16-year-old male victim was not a current student at the school. However, police said they are still investigating and looking for any additional potential victims of Vanderhulst’s alleged misconduct.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a report of an alleged inappropriate relationship between the faculty member and a 16-year-old male student at the school on Thursday, May 18. During their investigation, they identified Vanderhulst as the suspect and took her into custody.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney said prosecutors were reviewing the evidence and decided to pursue criminal charges against the teacher.
The case shocked the small community of Yucaipa, where Vanderhulst had a highly respected reputation as a teacher and mentor. Many revered her for her mentorship of promising young students and her tireless work as an advocate for her students.
When she won “Teacher of the Year,” the Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror was quoted as saying, “She is the kind and innovative teacher we hope our children will grow up with; the teacher who strives to engage all of her students at her intervention classes to her honors classes.”
The principal of Yucaipa High School also said at the time that Vanderhulst “is the epitome of the educator that so many aspire to be. From her honors classes.”