Thursday, January 31, 2013
The law firm representing four former and current students in a hazing lawsuit against D-207 administrators and faculty claims a letter sent to Dr. Audrey Haugan from the parent of a student at the Des Plaines high school in 2008 is evidence Maine Townshi
A lawyer representing current and former students in the Maine West High School hazing case alleged that the school's principal knew about the abuse in 2008. Antonio Romanucci, of Romanucci & Blandin, said a letter sent to Maine West Principal Audrey Haugan in 2008 showed she knew about the abuse, and did not report it to District 207, as required by law. Ken Wallace, superintendent at D-207, said in November that the first reports the district received of bullying and hazing at the Des Plaines high school were in September 2012. Romanucci addressed the press outside the District 207 boardroom, where members were meeting in closed session about a variety of hazing-related issues. Romanucci said that the school board has acknowledged the …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Employee discipline and other issues related to the investigation of bullying and hazing reports at Maine West High School in Des Plaines will be discussed by Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education in Park Ridge on Thursday.
A special school district meeting to discuss a variety of issues related to bullying and hazing reports at Maine West High School in Des Plaines will be held in Park Ridge on Thursday. Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education voted in favor of initiating the dismissal process on one coach, Michael DiVincenzo, named in a lawsuit filed by four families of current or former students in November at a meeting in December, and other administrators, coaches and district employees are named in the complaint. Listed on the agenda for the closed session portion of the special board meeting, announced by D-207 on Tuesday, are matters related to individual students, appointment, employment, compensation, performance, discipline or …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Hundreds attended a special Maine Township High School District 207 meeting in Park Ridge on Wednesday to discuss personnel issues related to the bullying and hazing allegations at Maine West High School.
Impassioned statements made by current and former Maine West High School students, and one parent, in support of coaches scrutinized by the school district over bullying and hazing allegations were not enough to convince board members to continue employing the varsity soccer coach and high school teacher Michael DiVincenzo. Tait Jensen said he played on the varsity soccer team at Maine West for three years, and was co-captain of the team for one year. “The culture Divo and Rodriguez created and sanctioned was exactly what you want your schools’ athletic programs to have,” Jensen said. “It wasn’t a culture of hazing or mistreatment or assault; it was an atmosphere of friendship and understanding that fostered trust amongst players and …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Current and former Maine West High School students spoke in support of two teachers on paid leave, pending the results of D-207’s investigation into bullying and hazing allegations.
Hundreds of community members filled the Maine Township High School District 207 boardroom in Park Ridge Wednesday as the school board met to discuss personnel matters related to the bullying and hazing investigation at Maine West High School in Des Plaines. Approximately a dozen current and former Maine West students, and one parent, addressed board members in support of Michael Divincenzo and Emilio Rodriguez, both teachers and coaches at the Des Plaines high school. A 2012 Maine West alum who spoke to the board on Wednesday night, Tait Jensen, said he played soccer under the supervision of Coaches Divincenzo and Rodriguez for three years. Jensen said the environment the two coaches promoted was one of respect, and they would not condone…
A special meeting for the Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Dec. 19.
A special meeting of the Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education to discuss personnel matters related to the investigation into bullying and hazing allegations was scheduled for Wednesday. The meeting will include an opportunity for public comment, said David Beery, spokesperson for D-207. The board will go into closed executive session, Beery said, return to open session and take a vote, if needed, on any personnel matter. Five D-207 employees were reassigned following the allegations of bullying and hazing. Michael Divincenzo and Emilio Rodriguez have teaching contracts with D-207 and are coaches at Maine West High School in Des Plaines. Divincenzo and Rodriguez were reassigned with pay, pending the result of D-207’s …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Maine West faculty, students, families and community members will gather in the Des Plaines high school’s auditorium on Sunday for the annual showcase of talent.
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Friday, December 14, 2012
The following information was submitted by David Beery, spokesperson for Maine Township High School District 207, which includes Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Maine South High School in Park Ridge and Maine East High School in Niles. An annual community favorite – the Maine West High School Prism Concert – will be presented twice on Sunday, Dec. 16, with the first presentation beginning 2 p.m. and a second performance set for 4:45 p.m. Featuring West’s talented students in band, orchestra and choral ensembles, the concert is unique in that it features 90 minutes of continuous music. The minute one song ends, the next one begins, as directors and students make use of multiple performance locations within the auditorium. Among the …
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The mother of a Maine West High School student filed a complaint with the Circuit Court of Cook County alleging hazing at Maine Township High School District 207.
The parents of a Maine West High School student filed a lawsuit on Nov. 19 that accuses the school district, faculty and staff of allowing their son to be physically and sexually assaulted as part of a known hazing ritual for the boys' varsity soccer team. The hazing ritual was ordered and witnessed by several coaches, according to the complaint, when, on Sept. 27, Michael Divencenzo, varsity soccer coach, Emilio Rodriguez, freshmen soccer coach, and other coaches ordered a “campus run” after the freshman soccer player was promoted to the varsity squad. During the “campus run” the boy’s teammates grabbed him, according to the complaint, tore off his underwear, held him down so he could not resist, grabbed his testicles and sodomized him …
Thursday, January 12, 2012
First cases reported in years.
In a previous story on whooping cough, we reported that Des Plaines was in the area of the state that has experienced the largest increase in reported cases of the disease, which is also known as pertussis. There have been six cases of whooping cough reported in Community Consolidated School District 62 so far this year, said Mindy Ward, director of community relations for the district. Ward said there were no cases reported in the 2010-2011 school year, and couldn’t recall a case being reported the year before that. In an email to Patch Ward wrote that the County Health Department notifies the district when a case is diagnosed, and the district sends a letter prepared by the health department to families at schools with reported cases. “…
Margie Borris
2:12 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I have to believe that some of the board members were also aware. Some, though retired from the school, are very involved in the day to day happenings at the school. After firing the coaches and whatever the outcome with Dr. Haugan, are they going to step down? more ›