Schaumburg High School teacher suspended for making a comment deemed harmful

A Schaumburg High School English teacher has been suspended for five days without pay for making a comment deemed harmful and for which he's expressed regret.

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board members voted unanimously Thursday to approve the five-day suspension of Ronald Micheletto.

Earlier in the school board meeting during public comment, student Chieko Dunham said she had been at the receiving end of racially insensitive comments by Micheletto.

Dunham said Micheletto apologized to her later and she had accepted that apology.

Though not revealing any further details, district officials released a statement after the board vote.

“After a thorough investigation, a notice to remedy and suspension was issued by the board of education,” the statement reads. “A notice to remedy is a directive from the board of education that the teacher's conduct must be immediately remedied or dismissal will occur.

“In this case, the teacher, who believed they were using satire, admitted making an error in judgment with the comment and was sincerely remorseful and apologetic about the harm it caused.

“The notice to remedy provides an opportunity for change, while at the same time serves as a formal disciplinary measure that puts the individual on notice that this conduct was unacceptable and cannot happen again.”

Speaking of her aspiration to one day be a District 211 teacher herself, Dunham said she remained disappointed about what happened.

“A lot of students have a lot to say, and they want to see an improvement in the faculty,” Dunham said.