H-F High School Students Rally for Fine Arts Department

The students have spoken, their voices raising as one into a chorus with a simple refrain: "Why?"

Why is the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Disitrct 233 board of education not extending the contracts of Nicholas Stark and Heidi Stachulak, teachers in the Fine Arts department? Two teachers students support so strongly, more than 100 flooded the board of education’s meeting on Tuesday, April 16, to voice their question, share their inspiring stories of the teachers—and demand answers.

“As student leaders of the Fine Arts department, we would just like to take a moment to express our concerns on the new direction the Fine Arts department seems to be taking,” said Kayla Griffith, a junior, said to the board during a prepared statement.

Griffith and fellow junior Anthony Swiatnicki, and seniors Jocelyn Manning and Isaiah Sciford, spoke on behalf of the students.

The quartet read from a prepared statement before answering questions from board members about changes in the department, a perceived lack of challenges in the classroom and the loss of two teachers the students called "mentors."

“We know that decisions have already been made, however we mostly hope that you can help ease a few concerns that we have about the current state of the Fine Arts department that we believe could foreshadow the future of our artistic endeavors,” Swaiatinicki said.

One-by-one the foursome spoke to the board about their experiences in the department, about their journeys from befuddled freshmen to upperclassmen leaders who see the confusion in the department, in the halls and on the faces of students who are left wondering why teachers they've grown to know and care about are being let go.

“At the end of this year, everyone is confused,” Manning said. “Students and teachers, everyone is trying to figure out where they're going. ”

While the students questioned the board's choices, board president Richard Lites expressed his gratitude to the students for sharing their opinions. However, he also explained that while he would like to further explain the choices of the board, he legally couldn't.

“At the risk of trying not to sound disingenuous to you, unfortunately we can't have conversations about personnel issues that would violate the privacy of an individual,” Lites said, adding, “By law, federal law, we can't have those discussions. You deserve so much more than that.”

While the students left without answers to their questions about the two beloved teachers, board member Jeanne McInerney-Lubeck tried to ease concerns for the future of the Fine Arts department.

"We're deeply comitted to a quality Fine Arts department," McInerney-Lubeck said. "Not one class has been on the chopping block here. ... we will do whatever we can to keep the best fine arts program for our students."

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