Teacher 'found drinking bottles of wine in classroom'
A highly-regarded teacher has resigned after she was allegedly found drinking bottles of wine in a classroom closet.
Art teacher Catherine Sullivan resigned from her job at Hanahan Middle School in South Carolina following weeks of issues, according to documents obtained by Live 5 WCSC.
A memorandum from the school’s principal Robin Rogers states Ms Sullivan was found in a classroom storage closet by her eighth-grade students on October 30 about 12.40pm (local time) with the lights off and door locked.
Ms Rogers alleges the teacher looked confused, could not tell what time it was and when asked where the class was she replied “in the closet” repeatedly.
The principal organised someone to give her a ride home.
Students described Ms Sullivan as having red eyes, purple lips and slurring her words on November 12, according to records obtained by NBC News 2.
Students from her eighth grade class also claimed she was in a classroom closet drinking and snapped pictures of three wine bottles.
The records also state when she was asked by the school she told staff the bottles were in her purse from the weekend and she previously had a drink early that same morning.
An attendance clerk also claimed they tried to help Ms Sullivan with grading that day and said she smelled of alcohol and was behaving strangely, WCSC reported.
She handed in her resignation on December 13.
Ms Sullivan was named the school’s teacher of the year in 2017 and was considered for a district-wide award.
She has cited health and family issues as reasons behind her resignation.
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