A Florida teacher who was recently accused of calling her black students “rats” resigned this week, according to local news reports.
Jordan Cataldo, a third-grade teacher at Jacksonville’s Carter G. Woodson School, also told the black kids that they could “infest the class” during the incident back in May. According to reports, the kids were trying to get back into their classroom, and the door was locked.
Tiera Ross, the mother of one of those students, also accused Cataldo of saying,”They’re only going to amount to be a bunch of ratchet Walmart workers, and also saying that that’s why their race is either dead or in jail.”
“I’m so infuriated inside that I want to cry, but I’m not,” Ross told a local station back in May. “I’m going to be strong enough for my daughter to make sure that the situation is taken care of.”
The Duval County Public Schools soon launched an investigation and quickly found that Cataldo had made inappropriate comments relating to rats, but apparently she did not say anything to do with race. The investigation still found that Cataldo violated district policies and principles of professional conduct.
It was enough evidence to substantiate further action, the district said. But she chose to resign instead.
