Last week, as part of an annual homecoming tradition, the sophomore class left matching gifts and notecards in teachers’ mailboxes.  One of this year’s messages, written in colorful marker: “Thanks for showing us the right path.”

In the same week, however, students’ faith in their teachers was badly shaken, as they learned that teacher Hugo Cortes Guzman had been arrested on suspicion of unlawful sex with a minor.

The news spread across social media immediately after his arrest Tuesday, and was the topic of hushed conversation across the school.  Students were shocked, bewildered, and largely disbelieving that Cortes, a popular AVID and math instructor, could have been involved in a sex crime.

“My greatest concern is the loss of trust,” said Principal Gregory Shelby.  “This incident will hurt that trust, but I hope that we can recover, because we’ve been headed in the right direction.”

Administrators, concerned that the news would bring up traumatic memories for some, brought additional psychologists into the school on Wednesday to speak with students who needed it.

Shelby wanted to stop students from blaming the victim for Cortes’s arrest, and paid particular attention to online comments, though he acknowledged that “students do have certain rights to speak freely as long as they’re not hurting other students.”

Cortes is scheduled to appear in court on Friday to enter a plea.  According to court documents, prosecutors have charged him with four felony counts of unlawful sex with a minor, on four separate occasions since Sept. 1, 2012.

Cortes taught AVID 4, Algebra Support, and AP Statistics.  Students and alumni described him on Facebook as a “favorite teacher,” “good man,” “kind-hearted man,” and “father figure.”

English teacher Carrielynn Haedtler said that many of the AVID 4 students in her College Expository Writing class were devastated.

“This is a mentor to them,” she said.  “They’ve been together three years, and they just feel let down by this person.”

AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a program designed to coach students into four-year colleges.  Many of Cortes’s senior AVID students had been in his class since freshman year, and had developed tight bonds with him.

Damont Hardnett, a senior in Cortes’s AVID class, saw his teacher’s arrest as deserved.  “This mistake he did – he’s going to go to jail; he’s going to pay the price for it,” Hardnett said.  “I love him to death, but at the end of the day, he betrayed me, that’s all I can say.”

Police began investigating Cortes after a janitor reported having seen the teacher and a student alone in his classroom on the night of Sept. 20,, watching the R-rated movie “This is the End.”  When the janitor returned to clean the room, court records obtained by The Roar show that he found girls’ underwear in a cabinet drawer.  After police were alerted, they searched the room and also found condoms and a copy of the book “50 Shades of Grey.”

Cortes was later arrested after he and the student involved admitted to having an ongoing sexual relationship, and placed on a compulsory leave of absence by the school district as required by law.

His arrest coincided with homecoming week, and student morale was lower than usual before float-building, said junior class president Lily Hang.

“I feel like it kind of brought the spirit down in a way, and everyone’s just overwhelmed,” Hang said.  “But honestly . . . we’re not going to let it affect anything.”

As students dealt with the blow of Cortes’s arrest, the AVID and math departments were both left short one teacher.  Shelby announced that starting today, math teacher Kristin Castillo will take over Cortes’s senior AVID classes, while math teacher Candace Jiang will teach his AP Statistics classes.

Cortes’s classroom will be left empty for the rest of the year, Shelby announced in an email to teachers, as the administration felt “it was needed to not have students in there so soon.”

Though he noted that no one knew the full facts of the case, Shelby stressed its serious nature.  “If it happened the way the accusations seemed to indicate – it’s never okay.”