'Hoffman Estates High School teacher who was living with student resigns'

Hoffman Estates High School teacher who was living with student resigns
By Kate Thayer, Chicago Tribune reporter

7:19 a.m. CST, November 30, 2011
A Hoffman Estates High School teacher has resigned after district officials learned she was living with a student.

The teacher submitted her resignation to the Township High School District 211 school board Nov. 10, days after she was placed on "emergency suspension" without pay. The teacher had been removed from the classroom Sept. 14 when officials said they first learned that the teacher allowed the male student to move into her home without notifying the school.

The woman has not been accused of a crime, but Hoffman Estates police Sgt. Darin Felgenhauer confirmed that authorities are investigating. The Department of Children and Family Services completed their investigation, which "substantiated claims of abuse and neglect," on Nov. 18, said spokesman Kendall Marlowe.

The teacher, who is 36 and had worked for the district since 2003, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. She taught math, according to the district's website.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, district officials revealed Tuesday they were notified on the evening of Sept. 13 that a social worker had received a report the teacher was living with a male student. Officials will not disclose the age or grade level of the student, who is a minor.

The next day, officials reported the accusations to Hoffman Estates police and placed the teacher on leave, barring her from having any contact with students, said Superintendent Nancy Robb. The "emergency suspension" the teacher later received is a disciplinary tactic used when an employee is accused of "threatened or actual" sexual impropriety or physical harm to a student, according to district policy.

During two interviews, the teacher told district officials she offered to tutor the student after noticing he was displaying some "behavioral difficulties," according to documents obtained through the FOIA request.

According to those documents, the tutoring began in the third quarter of last school year and took place after school in a classroom. During spring break, those tutoring sessions moved to a local restaurant.

Although the student's grades improved and school ended, the pair continued to meet during the summer — often daily and at the teacher's apartment — after the teacher offered to help the student improve his ACT score, documents state. Those tutoring sessions eventually expanded to watching movies and going out to eat.

After the student learned his mother planned to move out of Hoffman Estates, the teacher suggested that he move in with her to remain at the school — an arrangement that was kept from school officials, according to documents.

The documents further state the student moved in with the teacher just before school started last August and that she financially supported the teen by buying him clothes and food and providing him use of a car. The student would tell friends he was staying with his "godmother."

On Sept. 14, the day after district officials learned of the teen's living situation, a social worker helped the teen remove his belongings from the teacher's home and provided other services to him and his family, Robb said.

Although the teacher was placed on unpaid leave when the living arrangement first came to light, Robb said she did not suspend the teacher until she learned more about DCFS findings.

"We took immediate and definitive actions in order to protect the safety and welfare of our students," she said, adding no one at the school was aware of any inappropriate actions by the teacher and all were stunned by the allegations.

"Everyone is very surprised. This was a very covert thing … no one knew about it," Robb said. "She has been an excellent teacher."