Fort Hunt teacher remembered for his dedication to special needs students

An image of Tarreece Sampson from his Facebook page.

Tarreece Sampson had interviewed for a full-time job as a special education teacher just three days before he was shot and killed in front of his Huntington-area home, according to a story published by The Washington Post.

Sampson, who worked as an instructional aide at Fort Hunt Elementary School, was killed early Friday morning in the parking lot of the Cityside apartments on Richmond Highway. Police have not announced a motive or suspect in the homicide; Sampson’s girlfriend told NBC Washington that she believes Sampson may have interrupted a crime in progress.

Sampson’s family remembered him as “a ‘special’ young man with a calling to protect and reach the underserved and mistreated,” according to the Post. Thomas Fitzpatrick, the principal at Fort Hunt, recalled how Sampson excelled at building relationships and connecting with hard-to-reach students:

In one case, Sampson helped break through with a boy with multiple disabilities who often misbehaved. Sampson brought in a little flower in a pot to teach the child a lesson about how actions affect a person’s environment.

Every time the student did something right, the boy would go over and water the plant, which eventually grew too big for the pot.

“The kid really ate it up,” said Fitzpatrick. “He saw being responsible for a plant was like being responsible for the learning community.”

Read the full article.