Miami preschool teacher allegedly put blackface on kids

Parents are upset about a preschool teacher in Miami who apparently put blackface on young kids for a Black History Month lesson.

Several parents sent the Miami Herald photos of three toddlers at Studio Kids’ Little River with what looked like brown paint on their faces, the Miami Herald reported Saturday.

“You should know better as an educator,” Courtney Politis, who is Black and the mother of kids at the school, told the paper. “What else are you teaching our children?”

Politis has since taken her kids out of the school, the Herald reported.

“I am shocked and somewhat destabilized,” another parent who didn’t give their name told the outlet.

The controversial images circulated in a parents’ group chat.

Politis then told Studio Kids director Patricia Vitale via text, “This is racist,” an admonishment that surprised the director.

“I’m sorry?” Vitale said, prompting Politis to reply: “A lot of moms are very concerned.”

“What is racist?” an apparently confused Vitale answered before sending a message to all the parents.

“We have not intended to offend anyone, and we are very sorry about any inconvenience,” Vitale’s message read, according to screenshots of her note. “The parents that know us, know that we have never had a bad intention in our institution.”

Vitale then told the Herald the problem had been sorted out.

“The issue is resolved already; 80 percent of the families are okay,” Vitale told the Miami Herald. She then said any further questions should be directed toward her lawyer.

The Studio Kids parents who spoke to the Miami Herald say the school is primarily Latino, including the teacher who conducted the lesson.

Studio Kids is a preschool that serves both infants and toddlers and can cost up to $1,500 per month.