School district removes teacher for allegedly running ‘white nationalist’ podcast
Florida middle school teacher Dayanna Volitich is under review by the Citrus County School District for allegedly running a white nationalist podcast, according to published reports.
Volitich was removed pending the completion of an investigation by the school district.
Why was she removed?
A statement from the school district reads:
On Friday, March 2, 2018 the Citrus County School District was made aware of a concerning podcast by a Huffington Post reporter. The reporter indicated they believed one of the persons participating in the podcast was a teacher at Crystal River Middle School. 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. Pursuant to Florida Statute an open investigation and materials related to it are exempt from public record and cannot be discussed until the investigation is complete.
The Huffington Post reported Saturday that Volitich, a social studies teacher at Crystal River Middle School, secretly ran a white nationalist podcast under the pseudonym Tiana Dalichov.
Reporters uncovered the connection by comparing Volitich’s picture with those on Dalichov’s social media accounts. The photos appear to show the same person.
Additionally, a Dalichov website contained biographical information that is similar to the teacher’s. Other similarities include her age (25) and location (Crystal City, Florida). That article also pointed out that many of the letters in both names are the same.
The school district’s review will address any ethics codes or policies were violated.
What did she allegedly say?
In the podcasts, Dalichov allegedly said “science” proved that certain races are smarter than others. On social media, she allegedly wrote that terrorism will continue until Muslims are “eradicated.”
Some parents had complained to the school principal that she was covertly teaching her beliefs in the classroom. But Dalichov denied those claims. In another statement, she allegedly agreed with a guest that more white supremacists should become teachers to spread their viewpoints.
On Twitter, Dalichov allegedly wrote: “It isn’t supremacist or racist to prefer your own race over others.”
Volitich has not yet publicly addressed the allegations.
