GALEWOOD — Sayre Language Academy has recently hired three teachers to staff classrooms that had gone without them for some time, but one position remains open and another will be opening soon, school sources said.
Sayre, 1850 N. Newland Ave., has for years had trouble staffing classrooms due to what some in the school said is an abrasive leadership style by principal Suzana Ustabecir.
The school has lost at least 35 teachers since 2011, not including three positions that were vacated this year, according to figures compiled by the Chicago Teachers Union and documented by DNAinfo Chicago in a story on the state of the school. Kids in fifth and sixth grades have been without a permanent math and science teacher for some time, parents said.
The high turnover has lead some parents to worry for their child's education. At a meeting of the Local School Council Thursday, parent Letisia Rodriguez said her sixth-grade daughter has not had a science teacher for virtually the entire year.
"My daughter is in sixth grade — it's kind of a benchmark year," she told the council. "So it is of concern to me."
Ustabecir said at the meeting that three teachers were hired and started after classes resumed after winter break: a third-grade teacher, fourth-grade teacher and a fifth- and sixth-grade math teacher.
The middle school science teacher position has not yet been filled, Ustabecir said, but she and other school officials said they are hopeful the job will get filled soon.
A special education teacher will also be leaving this school year, and Ustabecir said the school is working to find a replacement.
The revolving door of teachers has impacted education in a few ways, parents said. Mainly it has lead to a series of substitutes staying in classes, but it has also lead to the canceling of classes like gym and art while those teachers are moved into classrooms to teach traditional subjects, parents and teachers told DNAinfo Chicago.
But the turnover also has impacted education and led to increased bullying at the school, sources said. Some, including the school's longtime clerk, said staff has been berated by Ustabecir in earshot of children, leaving the kids to "run amok," while others said the lack of permanent teachers has also contributed to poor behavior by students.
Sayre parent Julie Trenker said her daughter is on her second teacher this year. She said her daughter had experienced bullying since enrolling at Sayre, and that teachers who lost their standing in the classroom had resorted to "inappropriate" methods of discipline.
"A teacher told my daughter's class that 'I'm going to be mean tomorrow. You'll wish you never had me,'" Trenker said. "That's completely inappropriate to say to 8-year-olds. It's haywire."
Ustabecir declined to answer a reporter's questions after the meeting Thursday night.
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