Palmetto Middle School mom accused of striking teacher, spitting will have her day in court
Stephanie Armas, a Palmetto Middle School mom who has been accused of hitting her child’s teacher in a principal’s office conference, will get her day in court.
During a hearing Tuesday, Miami-Dade Judge Lizzet Martinez reiterated the charges against Armas before announcing the June 10 trial date. Armas is charged with one count of battery, a first-degree misdemeanor, Martinez said.
Armas has pleaded not guilty.
READ MORE: A teacher questioned mom’s parenting skills. Mom struck her, spat, cops say
Neither Armas nor her lawyer, Frank Quintero, a prominent Coral Gables defense attorney who also represents former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles, were present for the hearing. Armando Luis, an attorney at Quintero Broche, appeared for Quintero.
What happened in principal’s office
On Feb. 15, Armas was arrested in her Cutler Bay home and charged with battery after allegedly striking Palmetto Middle School eighth grade social studies teacher Mayade Ersoff during a parent-teacher conference in the principal’s office the day prior, according to the arrest affidavit.
The meeting, called by principal Jesus Gonzalez, was intended to be a discussion about issues Armas’ son was having with students at the school. Assistant principal Isamara Berrios was also present, records show.
After Ersoff told Armas she needed to “learn how to raise your child” and told the parent she was happy her son would no longer be in her class because “he was so disruptive,” Armas struck the teacher, spat on the principal’s desk and threw a picture frame as the teacher was leaving through a back door, according to Armas’ arrest affidavit filed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools Police.
The next day, Armas, 34, was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in west Miami-Dade. She posted a $1,500 bond and was released.
The week before the altercation, Armas’ son reported to Ersoff that other students had threatened him while at school, located at 7351 SW 128th St. in Pinecrest.
Armas claimed Ersoff failed to report her son’s account in a timely manner, according to Quintero. Ersoff, however, said she notified the school administrators “right away. I called the assistant principal and said a student had been threatened verbally,” she told the Herald in a recent interview.
The Miami-Dade School District provided records to the Herald but declined to comment on the incident or make available school officials for an interview. The district, in a statement last week, said the school community, “including employees and visitors, is reminded to do its part by serving as positive role models for the students of this district and avoid disrupting the safe and positive learning environment that is expected at all of our schools.”
A second incident occurred Feb. 25. when Ersoff again called the police after seeing Armas’ son on campus. Ersoff told Pinecrest police “she felt worried when she heard the student was around because she was scared his mother would come back and try something again.”
But according to email records from Miami Dade Schools Police, which were obtained by the Herald, the student was allowed to be on campus, as he was not expelled or suspended.
According to the Pinecrest police report, the student would be moving to Georgia. Quintero, the mom’s attorney, previously told the Herald the mom had taken her son to the school to “say goodbye to his friends.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 2:22 PM.
