We are writing to inform you about a deeply concerning issue that has recently come to light. Thanks in part to the vigilance and determination of Parents Care and conscientious whistleblowers in the District, we were able to remove a potentially dangerous new District 67 hire under active police investigation from the classroom before he was given access to children.
Yesterday, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to District 67, specifically seeking information about new hires, including a detailed inquiry into the background of Markise Jackson, a newly hired teaching assistant.
In our FOIA request, we shared with the District, Board President, Superintendent and Human Resources lead a troubling news article discovered through our simple due diligence Google search. The article reveals that Mr. Jackson, a former teacher at Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, resigned in lieu of termination amidst a criminal investigation into "inappropriate conduct."
According to the article, he is under active criminal investigation for inappropriate conduct with students by the Kenosha Police Department.
(We did not make this information public yesterday in the abundance of caution and a desire to verify that the new hire was the same individual. We would have gone public today before the first day of school had the District not responded or acted.)
Today, the district sent out a communication where Superintendent Matthew Montgomery claimed he was alerted to the issues surrounding this hire by a staff member. Dr. Montgomery failed to mention that Parents Care had alerted him and the district yesterday at 5:37 PM, helping them avoid giving Mr. Jackson access to children at Cherokee Elementary.
While Montgomery claims that this individual's employment was still pending board approval, this is a distraction from the real issue. Had Parents Care and the staff member not intervened, Markise Jackson would have been in the classroom with students as early as tomorrow.
Sadly, this incident is not isolated but part of a troubling pattern of repeated failures by the district's administration, human resources and school boards to protect our children, as finally acknowledged by Dr. Montgomery in his letter to the community.
Ivan Sostre
No Culture of Accountability
Parents Care has lost faith in Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Phil Georgia, whose oversight failures have led to the employment of multiple avoidable and dangerous hires in the last year. Not only did he ignore Parents Care’s policy proposals last year, but he also alerted Evanston High School District when we began investigating why Evanston remained silent after Lake Forest hired Paul Brock, who had been terminated by Evanston for sexual grooming of a student. It was unacceptable of him to side with those who would "pass the trash" and his hiring failures are no longer tolerable.
A Pathway Forward
For months, Parents Care has been advocating for comprehensive reforms to protect our children, including:
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Transparent Communication and Reporting Protocols: The district must commit to clear and open communication with parents and the community, especially regarding misconduct reporting.
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Immediate Removal of Suspected Individuals: Any adult suspected of inappropriate behavior must be removed from positions that give them access to students without delay.
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Comprehensive Employment Vetting: It’s clear that current background checks are insufficient. The district must conduct thorough reviews of the full employment history of all staff with unsupervised access to children.
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End the Cycle of Abuse: The district must adopt a zero-tolerance policy for adults found to have engaged in misconduct, ensuring they are never allowed to "pass the trash" to another district.
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Independent Third-Party Investigation: The district must hire an independent investigator to assess current policies and practices, identify gaps, and recommend necessary reforms.
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Accountability in Human Resources: The repeated failures in hiring practices indicate a deep-rooted problem in the district’s HR department. Those responsible must be held accountable to prevent further risks to our children.
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Collaboration, Not Opposition: The district administration and school board have consistently labeled Parents Care as an "opposition group" and refused to engage with us. This must change. Our sole mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, and the district should work with us, not against us.
Superintendent Matthew Montgomery’s recent announcement of an independent audit is a positive step, but it comes only after repeated pressure from Parents Care and way too many dangerous incidents. This audit must be comprehensive and transparent, addressing all our concerns and ensuring such dangerous oversights do not happen again. Additionally, Montgomery should address the other policy recommendations offered by Parents Care.
We remain committed to holding the the school board and district administrators accountable and ensuring that our schools are safe environments for all students. We will continue to advocate for the necessary reforms and demand the transparency and accountability that our children deserve.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to protect our community’s most vulnerable members.
Sincerely,
Parents Care
p.s.
Has there ever been a greater need for independent oversight of our local public schools? Perhaps it's time for Superintendent Montgomery and the elected Board Members cease with the "opposition group" nonsense and start working collaboratively with Parents Care?
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