FL Teacher Accused Of Grooming Resigned, Wrote Student Letter: Reports

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL — A teacher resigned from Manatee County School District over accusations of grooming students, according to multiple reports.

One mother accused Jarrett Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at B.D. Gullett Elementary School whose resignation was accepted by the school board Tuesday night, of sending her 11-year-old daughter inappropriate letters, ABC 7 reported.

Ann Mitchell accused Williams of what she called “serious and egregious misconduct,” including unwanted physical contact with her daughter and other students, reports said.

Mitchell told the school board that she found a two-page handwritten letter from Williams to her teacher, WTSP said.

"There was just a lot of intimacy that was stated in the letter that crossed the boundary violations of how a teacher should be communicating with their student," Mitchell said.

The letter read, "You know I truly love you, and no matter what, that will never change. I really love being your teacher and, more importantly, I love how close we have gotten this year," read part of the letter.

He wrote in the letter several more times “I love you” and “I’ll keep our notes between us,” reports said.

The letter was reported to the school’s principal on March 9 and Williams was reassigned to a non-instructional facility where he had no contact with students the next day, the school district told WFLA.

“The district also notified the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices. The Sheriff’s Office and school district opened independent investigations into the allegations,” the district said. “In cases like these, the law enforcement investigation takes precedence. Once the Sheriff’s Office gave the district authorization, [the teacher] was interviewed by the district’s Office of Professional Standards. During that interview, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, [the teacher] submitted his resignation from employment with the district. His resignation was placed on the agenda for the very next school board meeting, Tuesday, April 29th, for personnel action. After public comment and board discussion, the school board approved the resignation so that [the teacher’s] separation from the district was complete. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office investigation remains open, and the district will continue to fully cooperate with that investigation.”