CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. -- A Florida teacher whom the Huffington Post identified as secretly hosting a podcast that espouses racist views, has been removed from the classroom, the school district said Sunday.
According to the Huffington Post, Dayanna Volitich, 25, taught social studies at Crystal River Middle School in Crystal River, Fla. The website said Volitich hosts the Unapologetic podcast under the pseudonym "Tiana Dalichov."
LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS: This is a link to listen to Volitich's podcasts
In a podcast from Feb. 26, Volitich agreed with a guest who criticized the idea that “a kid from Nigeria and a kid who came from Sweden are supposed to learn exactly the same” and have the “same IQ.” She also argued that "science" has proved some races are smarter than others.
The Citrus County (Fla.) School District made the announcement of Volitich's removal Sunday in a statement from Sandra Himmel, the superintendent of the school district.
In the statement posted on Facebook, the school district said: "The Human Resources department was notified and an investigation was initiated immediately. The teacher has been removed from the classroom and the investigation is ongoing."
A photo on the Dalichov Twitter account (now deleted) matches Volitich's staff photo on the school's website, down to the earrings being worn, the Huffington Post noted. It also noted the names "Dayanna Volitich" and "Tiana Dalichov" are almost anagrams.
When the Huffington Post contacted the school district, Scott Hebert, executive director of educational services, told the site it could not confirm that "Dalichov" was Volitich but said the district "will be looking into the statements she made, checking the validity to see if they violate our code of ethics and policy."
Volitich also bragged in the podcast about being a teacher, and said she lied to a principal after parents complained she had introduced her political views into her classroom, the website said. She also said more white nationalists need to become teachers.
The Post said it had tried to contact Volitich and "Dalichov" for comment but got no response. Social media accounts under both names had been deleted.
Crystal River is 66 miles north of Tampa. Citrus County, where the school is located, is 88.5% white and 3.1% black, according to U.S. Census estimates from July 2016.
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