Former Hersey High School coach resigns from teaching job amid wrestling program probe

Former John Hersey High School wrestling coach Joe Rupslauk — who had already been stripped of his coaching responsibilities amid a probe into residency and recruiting violations — has resigned from his teaching position at the Arlington Heights school.

Rupslauk’s resignation from his special education teaching job took effect last Friday, following approval of personnel actions by the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board Thursday.

He was still listed as an internal substitute teacher on the school website, but a district spokesman on Monday confirmed Rupslauk is no longer employed by the school district in any capacity.

Reached by phone Monday, Rupslauk hung up.

The school board in January issued a notice to remedy to Rupslauk in reference to “unprofessional conduct” detailed in a separate, still-undisclosed Dec. 19, 2025, memorandum.

The notice stated failure to comply could result in further disciplinary action up to and including dismissal as a tenured teacher.

Rupslauk had been away from the school since he was placed on administrative leave in December.

Rupslauk, the boys varsity coach, was among five coaches across varsity, junior varsity and freshman levels relieved of their coaching duties in January following launch of the internal district probe Dec. 10.

The investigation identified residency eligibility issues and determined that “several” students who wrestled at Hersey didn’t reside within the school’s attendance boundaries, district officials said.

Concerns over potential recruiting practices and in-season training activities outside of the school program were also identified, officials said.

Of the five coaches, Rupslauk was the only one who was also a teacher in the district.

Last month, district officials demoted three administrators at Hersey — Athletic Director Julia Barthel and two deans of students, Jennifer Korakakis and Matthew Norris — to teaching positions.