Latest news with #LincolnParkHighSchool
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
Former Lincoln Park High School principal and assistant principal removed from CPS "do not hire" list
Months after an inspector general's report found allegations against them were mishandled, a former principal and assistant principal at Lincoln Park High School have been removed from the Chicago Public Schools' "do not hire" list. Former principal John Thuet and assistant principal Michelle Brumfield were fired in 2020, accused of mishandling claims of sexual misconduct. In December 2024, the Office of Inspector General for Chicago Public Schools determined the case against them was mishandled, and improperly conducted "off-the-books. The pair later petitioned to be removed from the district's "do not hire" list. CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez granted their request this week, making them eligible to work for the school district again. In January and February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted schools to remote learning for more than a year, Lincoln Park High School was embroiled in a headline-grabbing scandal that lasted weeks. It started with a complaint about an unauthorized boys' varsity basketball team overnight trip to Detroit in December 2019. After the trip, Thuet sent a letter to parents saying the "overnight trip over winter break… was not a school-sponsored event. An investigation followed, and Thuet and Brumfield were removed from their positions. The basketball coach and dean of the school were also reassigned, and as the school put it, "the remainder of the varsity boys' basketball season has been suspended until further notice." More complaints followed, including claims of sexual misconduct within the athletics department and retaliation by other students. Thuet and Brumfield have maintained from the beginning that they reported all of the claims of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoing to the CPS Office of Student Protections as required by the district. After the pair were fired, angry parents complained that CPS was not forthcoming with facts about the allegations against them. Meantime, students walked out of the school in protest, calling for Thuet and Brumfield to be reinstated and taking issue with the cancellation of the basketball season. Protests against Thuet and Brumfield's termination took over the halls of Lincoln Park High School and CPS board meetings. It took four years for the CPS inspector general to investigate and publish a report that was overwhelmingly critical of the Office of Student Protections and CPS. It noted an incredible conflict of interest, saying part of the Office of Student Protections' investigation into the matter started because of allegations made by a student whose mother actually ran that very office. The Inspector General called the investigation "off-the-books," which "seems to have affected the terminations of Thuet and Brumfield—each of whom were supposedly fired because of misconduct." Thuet and Brumfield have said they still don't know why they were fired in the first place. It's unclear if they'll seek to work for CPS again. The video above is from an earlier report.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Afterschool program uplifting Chicago students' voices through music
(NewsNation) — A group of Chicago students are lending their voices to honor Black History Month and learning about the significance of Black culture along the way. Change, power and resilience — that's the message these young voices are spotlighting while coming together to represent Africana music and culture. Uniting Voices Chicago is an afterschool program made up of 3,000 students across 88 Chicago public schools who perform free public shows at the Chicago Symphony Center. Lincoln Park High School student Daelyn Calloway is one of the voices involved. 'Singing songs like this is really exciting because I get to learn more about my culture personally and things that I wouldn't learn about in school about key songs in history, and seeing people gather together is so exciting, seeing stuff that has to do with me,' Calloway told 'Morning in America.' Black-owned barbershop thrives for 50 years as community hub The group's annual Black Futures Concert series, titled 'Afrofuturism: The Freedom Metropolis,' takes the audience through a journey of Black history, led by conductor Lonnie Norwood. 'We are putting forth the people, the civilization, the ways of knowing, the practices, the momentum. And the memory of those things make us tell their story the way that it's intended to be told,' Norwood said. The show features various genres of music and includes songs such as the 'Black National Anthem' and 'Swing Low.' During the show, the audience is introduced to the character Kendrick and his dream world, where he explores and finds healing through Afrofuturism. Uniting Voices Chicago has been performing for more than 60 years, and Norwood said the group takes pride in knowing diversity still plays a present role in its mission. 19 Black trailblazers that may not have been in your history book 'It was intentional to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to show those adults in the world who didn't know how to live together in harmony,' Norwood said. He said he is excited for the program to grow further and for the impact it will have on generations to come. 'This is really a love letter to the students to let them know that you have the ability right now — not later, but now — to start making real change in your world,' Norwood said. 'You have to start using your imagination and tapping into it. Start being critical thinkers. And we want to just challenge them to see the world first that they want to live in and then just make it happen.' That message has resonated with its students. 'You see young people coming together as one, not caring about anything else, just about music, and I think that's really important,' Calloway, 16, said. 'And if kids can do it, what can the adults do?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
