A Florida educator who was named Teacher of the Year at her school last week was arrested for allegedly striking a student in the face after the girl claimed on social media that the teacher had used the 'N-word' in class.
English teacher Caroline 'Melanie' Lee, 60, was booked into the Duval County Jail on a child abuse charge on Friday and made her initial court appearance on Saturday.
Lee was arrested after calling a student into her classroom to speak privately and allegedly striking the female student on the face and leaving the minor with a bloody nose, according to The Florida Times-Union, citing a Duval Schools Police report. A judge barred her from making any contact with the victim and ordered her to stay away from the school.
The confrontation was instigated by an Instagram post by Duval County Public Schools on Wednesday of Lee being named Teacher of the Year at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, according to the police report.
Caroline Lee, 60, an English teacher from Florida, has been charged with child abuse for allegedly hitting a student who publicly questioned her use of the 'N-word'
Lee was arrested just two days after being named Teacher of The Year at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School
A student at the student questioned Lee's selection for the honor, saying she had used the racial slur in class
Lee responded by saying that she had only use the slur only in the context of discussing Of Mice And Men
Several comments on the post questioned the recognition, with one user writing: 'isnt (sic) this the teacher who thought it was ok to say the n word while reading smth (sic) for educational purposes.....'
Lee replied that she had only used the slur in the context of discussing John Steinbeck's book Of Mice and Men.
The student shot back that
