Teacher resigns after nude photos found online

Students at her high school viewed them, she defended shots as art

Video: Life

Giving kids the chance to do the same
Dec. 21: Making a Difference: At the Giving Store in Bunnell, Florida, children get a chance to learn the meaning of the old adage, "It's better to give than to receive." NBC's Roger O'Neil reports.

Making a scene at the holiday office party

Cop brings gun to snowball fight

Santa 2.0: Christmas wishes go digital

Holocaust survivor makes history

NBC Field Notes

NBC News correspondents and producers across the U.S. shed light on the news of the day.

Photo features

AP	Year in Pictures 2009 Experience an audio slide show of the best news and sports images from around the world and close to home.
AP	PhotoBlog View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.

Most popular

updated 2:44 p.m. ET Aug. 18, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas - A high school art teacher who faced termination after students saw her nude photos online has agreed to resign.

Tamara Hoover had been on paid leave since May, when students saw the photos on Flickr.com and showed them to another art teacher at Austin High School. That teacher, who was feuding with Hoover over ceramics equipment, notified administrators, according to sworn affidavits.

The photos were posted by Hoover’s partner and depicted her in the shower, getting dressed and doing other routine activities.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Hoover said the district was focusing on eight pictures among hundreds that were posted, and she defended them as art. The school district said the photos were inappropriate and violated the “higher moral standard” expected of teachers.

Hoover, who had been scheduled to argue her case in a termination hearing next week, submitted her letter of resignation Wednesday. Pending school board approval, she will receive several months’ salary totaling $14,850 under an agreement with the school district.

She said she had wanted to keep teaching but now will pursue a master’s degree and teach at the university level.

“I don’t think this is the most ideal outcome,” she said.

In a statement released Thursday, the district said it “believes strongly in an individual’s right of free expression, but as we all know, such rights are not absolute.”