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ARLINGTON, Va. - Two elementary school teachers in Arlington were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana at their school.
An anonymous tip to Arlington police led them to come to Taylor Elementary School with a search warrant. Police arrested 25-year-old Luke Lloyd and 28-year-old Michael Diaddigo, a pair of physical education teachers at the school.
Arlington Public Schools said it has suspended both Diaddigo and Lloyd. A third teacher is also being investigated, but was not arrested. However, that teacher was placed on administrative leave.
The principal of Taylor Elementary School sent home a letter to parents on Friday after the arrests happened.
Dear Taylor Families:
I wanted to update you on an incident that occurred at school earlier today. Based on information received by the Arlington County Police Department, this morning we cooperated with the police on their investigation into a matter involving three Taylor staff members. As a result of their investigation, Michael Diaddigo and Luke Lloyd have been charged with possession of marijuana and have been suspended. One additional staff member has been placed on administrative leave, pending further investigation by the police.
As educators, we are obviously shocked and dismayed by this news, and our first concern has been for our students. While I can't share the details about the investigation with you because it is an ongoing personnel and police matter, I want to share how we are rallying to support our children, families and staff:
We believe the investigation is only focused on the adults and does not involve any of their interactions with our children.
We met with the Taylor staff this afternoon to share this news, and we all remain committed to maintaining our focus on our primary goal of providing the best academic and personal support for all Taylor students.
Counselors will visit these classes next week to share with students what has happened in age-appropriate ways, and our counselors will be available to help any students who may have questions or need to discuss this change.
Our administrative team is working with our Human Resources staff and we are following all APS personnel policies and procedures to deal with this matter appropriately.
We will continue to work to ensure that we have qualified replacements in place for these positions so that instruction can proceed without interruption.
This is a disheartening situation for Taylor and the entire APS community. Please be assured that we will continue to work together to ensure that Taylor's students, families and staff are supported during this transition.
As always, don't hesitate to call me if you need to discuss specific concerns about your child.
Counselors will be made available at the elementary school to explain why the teachers were arrested in an age-appropriate manner.
Lloyd and Diaddigo have been released on a summons, officials say.