It is difficult to sort through all of the information, misinformation, rumors and opinions about the Lake Forest High School principal search, but here is an attempt, written in Q&A format, to address the candidate search as well as questions about curriculum changes at the high school and at the elementary and middle schools.
The information that follows was culled from Daily North Shore’s notes from the District 115 Board’s May 26 Special Meeting; interviews with Lake Forest school staff; web posts by the candidate; letters to DNS; and emails from school administrators to parents.
When is the next D-115 Special Meeting?
At the May 26 Special School Board meeting, BOE President Reese Marcusson said another public meeting would be held between June 1 and June 9. Per state public meeting regulations, the board must provide 48 hours notice. No announcement was available as of 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. Daily North Shore will post the date as soon as it is made public.
Who is the candidate?
Daily North Shore heard on May 15 that the candidate is Chala Holland. She is an assistant principal at Oak Park & River Forest High School. Lake Forest School districts do not publicly discuss personnel issues so the district has not provided information about Dr. Holland.
The information that is going around comes from her consulting firm’s website and social media accounts, and from statements made by parents and residents of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood as well as by her colleagues, former colleagues and family friends at the District 115 Special Meeting and on this website.
When did DNS see her websites and when were they gone?
On May 15, Daily North Shore searched online and saw the website and social media accounts for an education consulting firm run by Dr. Holland, Holland Education Consulting Group (HECG). They were active on May 15 and gone the morning of May 16.
What’s Dr. Holland’s background?
According to the “About Us” page on the HECG website, she grew up in Ardmore, PA., a western suburb of Philadelphia. She also:
- attended Northwestern University on a full basketball scholarship
- earned a Bachelor’s of Science from Northwestern in secondary education with a concentration on history
- earned an M.A. in Social & Cultural Foundations in Education from DePaul University
- earned a doctorate in policy studies in education and urban education leadership from University of Illinois-Chicago
It further states that Holland “plans to use her doctoral work to contribute to national discourse that examines organizational change theory, leadership and systemic change focused on racial equity.”
Click here to read an archived web page of the Holland Education Consulting Group that can be found using internet cache services.
What is Holland Education Consulting Group?
HECG is an education consulting firm. Its website appears to have been created in 2013. The description on HECG’s home page is: “At HECG, we believe that educators and educational institutions have a responsibility to help students reach their full human potential.” The website and Facebook page for HECG are relatively old– they are dated January 2013 and February 2014, and they don’t appear to have much engagement on them. The Facebook page had 116 likes. The blog post outlined below had one reTweet and one Facebook share.
What was on the HECG website and FB page?
The HECG website had a blog post from January 2013 titled “Academic Tracking – The New (Educational) Jim Crow”
The academic tracks, ranging from self contained Special Education through AP/IB, have fallen along racial lines within many racial integrated schools with a disproportionate number of Black and Latino students in self-contained Special Education classes and a disproportionate number of White students in Honors and AP level courses. While the 1960’s boasted the physical segregation of spaces occupies by white and non-white students, the 2000’s boast integrated buildings yet segregated classrooms.
The racial integration of schools did not dismantle the systemic racism inherent in the schooling system. The work of Foucault indicates that once power is exposed, it goes into hiding and finds another system through which to operate until it is exposed again. In other words, it’s not a matter of “if racism” is operating in the schools, it’s a matter of knowing that it is there and working constantly uncover it and dismantle it. On the surface, many racially integrated schools seem like beacons of racial and economic diversity and integration. But, at their core are beacons of racial inequities disguised by a false notion of meritocracy and the reality of white privilege and internalized racism.
The HECG Facebook page’s top post was about Malcolm X and was dated February 22, 2014, the day after the anniversary of his assassination (which was February 21, 1965). The post included an image of Malcolm X, along with his statement “Don’t let your enemy be your teacher” and a comment from HECG stating “His words continue to resonate. His life will never be forgotten.”
A post from the Facebook page of Holland Educational Consulting Group, which has been removed from the internet.
Another post was about “culturally relevant word walls” and had an image of a dictionary definition of the word “hegemony:” 1) leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others. (example used in sentence:) “Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871.” Synonyms: leadership, dominance, supremacy, authority, mastery, control, power, sway, rule, sovereignty …”
A post on February 23, 2013, said: “Position yourself as a learner of all people and situations and you will be a teacher of many.”
Is Dr. Holland the only candidate for principal of D-115?
Superintendent Michael Simek at left, with board members David Lane and John Powers.
Yes. Here is how Superintendent Michael Simek explained the search process for LFHS principal; he said this at the May 26 board meeting:
- ad posted on edweek.org for three weeks. Edweek has an international audience
- 20 people applied for the position of LFHS principal
- admin review team interviewed eight candidates
- a team of teachers, students and parent representatives interviewed the candidates and narrowed the pool down to three and then to one, their top choice being Dr. Holland
- Simek then had a one-on-one interview with the candidate and a team of students, parents, administrators, teachers and two board members conducted a site visit to her school district, speaking with students, parents, teachers, support personnel and others
- the D-115 board conducted a number of background checks, talked with current and former supervisors and others she worked with and received many unsolicited endorsements from people who are familiar and passionate about the candidate
- some board members then met the candidate informally in small groups
The process took about a month, which Simek said seems too fast for some people and too long for others.
What do Dr. Holland’s supporters say?
At the District 115 May 26 meeting, Dan Cohen, a colleague of Dr. Holland’s at Oak Park and River Forest High School, said she has pushed him to be a better teacher and leader. Lake Forest resident Charlotte Ahern said Dr. Holland 14 years ago began renting the garage apartment owned by Ahern’s brother and his wife in Evanston, and that since then she has become “a wonderful addition to our extended family” who is a strong guiding force and trusted mentor to Ahern’s teenage nieces and nephews, and encourages them to be responsible and accountable.
What do Dr. Holland’s detractors say?
That she has never been a principal and therefore lacks experience to lead a school like LFHS; and that she has controversial views on tracking and critical race theory. Click here to read a Letter to the Editor from Lake Forest resident Jennifer Neubauer, which Daily North Shore posted on May 26. Click here to read all of the Letters to the Editor that DNS has posted on this issue in the past two weeks.
What does the D-115 administration say?
On May 22, Superintendent Michael Simek sent an email to parents stating that they were taking information out of context.
It is not uncommon, particularly after a site visit, for information to become public about a candidate and for speculation to begin. At that point, it is very easy for people outside the process who have not met, seen, or do not know the candidate to begin to form opinions and even draw conclusions about the person. Extrapolating from isolated pieces of information, out of context, is easy to do; it’s also both imprudent and illegal to allow that speculation to determine a hiring decision. In each case, the process should identify which candidate rises to the top and whether that person meets the criteria set forth.
My responsibility is to look at the criteria and then make a recommendation. Those without a window into all of the information and conversations with the candidates are sometimes frustrated by things that appear to make little sense from their perspective. We have good people in place that take their work extremely seriously. I hope and trust that you will allow the process to evolve and the district to do its work to serve our students. As we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future, we take both time and care in ensuring we bring great people into a great organization.
As always, we will be very open about conversations after a hiring decision is made and until then it remains by necessity and law a personnel matter required to be confidential.
Is LFHS getting rid of Honors and AP classes?
Superintendent Simek refuted that in another email to parents, this one dated May 26:
In the course of the principal search, a rumor has spread that we want to eliminate honors or AP courses. … Let me be very clear – we are not, and have no intention, of eliminating AP or honors at Lake Forest High School. … I would not recommend a principal candidate or any school leader interested in eliminating these courses. In fact, in our principal interview process, we were looking for someone with experience and ability to make additions and enhancements to these programs.
What changes is LFHS making to its curriculum?
A board member at the May 12 regular D-115 meeting described the changes to curriculum as “a major culture shift at the school to remove prerequisites.”
The 2015-16 course guide indicates the removal of the “College Prep” level (which was the term that LFHS until now used to describe the level just below honors and AP.)
In his May 25 email, Superintendent Simek stated that since he came to Lake Forest three years ago, LFHS has increased the number of students in AP classes. For example, in the 2014-15 school year, AP participation in science rose 32%. He also said that in the 2015-16 year the school has added AP courses that are new to LFHS. He cited a 52% increase in the number of students enrolled in AP Calculus, and a 3% increase in participation in honors courses.
The statements in his May 25 email mirrored a presentation about “Equity and Access” that LFHS Assistant Principal Tom Meagher made to the D-115 Board of Education on May 12, 2015. Dr. Meagher said that because of changes being made to “equity and access,” student requests for AP courses increased 29% in 2015-16 compared to the current school year. He also said that between the spring of 2013 and 2015, the number of students taking algebra classes below their grade level declined 29%, the number of students taking geometry below their grade level declined 39%, and the number of students taking pre-calculus above their grade level grew 44%.
What about the Lake Forest elementary and middle schools? Are they getting rid of the gifted & talented programs? What happened to Quest and Explore classes?
In response to questions by Daily North Shore, Lauren Fagel, the current assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, technology, and assessment of Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115, said in an email:
In District 67, we are committed to ensuring that all students grow academically, socially, and emotionally. This year, a group of math teachers and school/district administrators spent several months studying our middle school math curriculum scope and sequence. As a result of this work, we fully aligned our math courses, and we renamed our math courses to reflect the content of each course, rather than the level. This does not mean we have eliminated levels, and it does not mean we have eliminated any programming or services for students who are gifted.
We have been asked if will be doing the same process for our Language Arts curriculum. In January, 2015, the Board of Education voted to adopt a new reading and writing curriculum. Teachers and administrators are excited about the opportunities that this new curriculum offers for differentiation within the classroom. We will continue to explore the best service delivery model for a challenging and rigorous curriculum that meets all students’ needs.
Why has D-67 made these changes?
Fagel responded: The middle school teachers and administrators recognized the need for a more fully aligned math curriculum. We partnered with the Instructional Director for Math at Lake Forest High School to realign our middle school courses so they lead seamlessly into the high school math course sequence.
What does ‘fully align our math courses’ mean? Did the content change or just the way students are placed in each class?
Fagel said: Alignment means that each course builds on the previous course, with the content, skills, and concepts clearly articulated for each course. The content of our courses is not changing. Our courses address the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics.
What are the new math classes called? For example, what math class will a former Quest student be in now? What class will a student who was in Explore be in now?
Fagel said this chart on the District 67 website provides answers to these questions (it’s also shown below:).
And click here for a letter that describes the changes, also from the D-67 website.
How does D-67 determine what class is the right fit for each child? Test scores? Teacher evaluation? Parent request? And how does that differ from how kids were placed previously?
Fagel said the placement process is described in the letter.
What do teachers at the D-67 schools think about the changes to curriculum and removal of the Quest and Explore programs?
Daily North Shore asked the Lake Forest Education Association for a response; we received two comments from teachers who asked not to be identified by name:
One teacher said “What is being done in District 67 is being done in order to open more difficult courses to more students. The idea is to give more students the chance to take more rigorous classes. The intention is not to dumb down the curriculum or lessen rigor.”
Another teacher said: “To the best of my understanding, we are gradually fading out the tiered program (we may never completely fade it out) and are trying to expose as many students as possible to a rigorous curriculum. By no means are the tiers gone as of this moment.”
Lake Bluff Parent Comments from 6-1
“Going forward, I think it is prudent to have some sort of consistent protocol in hiring that is transparent and allows for open, inclusive community input. Current District 115 Superintendent Michael Simeck went through such a process when he interviewed for a position at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan just before coming to Lake Forest.
“Collaboration, transparency, and the inclusion of an unbiased third party (e.g. search firm) must be a priority going forward or we can continue to expect more of what we are going through now in the future.”
——
The Board is elected to represent the Community not an “autocrat” who presents 1 candidate, with no search firm, who has no experience or track record of successful leadership as a principal. There should be a choice in our democracy of more than one candidate in a pool of 20-25. This is about transparency and full disclosure.
Barry Rodgers, Assistant Superintendent, was hired less than 2 years ago using search firm Schoolexecconnect.com. He was the leading principal in Illinois at the time. He provided much stablity after years of school disruptions and turmoil which we all would like to put behind us. Maybe the board should propose a vote on 6-9 at 5 pm at WLF campus to consider the appointed of a new Superintendent who listens to the taxpayers and the 689 people who have signed the petitiion to remove the sole principal candidate from the pool of 20-25 where many are qualified principals with actual experience. This is about “experience” and nothing more.
1. Excellent job by Adrienne (did we expect less?)
2. Look up Michael Foucault via any search engine. A dubious authority at best. You judge the appropriateness of someone who follows his teachings/writings. Some folks will find racism everywhere.
Carl
So here we come upon a second troubled search for an area high school, the other one having occured earlier this year for District 113 (Highland-Park-Deerfield H.S.)
And what have we learned? In this day and age, because of the so-called electronic resolution in communications, public stakeholders exercise a larger role in the appointment of superintendents and principals.
Clearly our school boards and senior administrators have to account for as much as they conduct executive-level searches. It is unavoidable and a reality of the way processes work in the twenty-first century. We cannot escape back fifty or so years when such matters were conducted behind closed doors.
I commend Adrienne Fawcett — whose journalistic sensibilities I greatly admire — for the posting made on May 31. It certainly lays out a great deal of information in a rather disapassionate manner. Readers of DNS are most fortunate, since we are not going to obtain news and analysis from the print daily newspapers or the various weeklies.
In the end, my wish is that the public stakeholders might pull back and allow this matter to settle down in order to reach whatever conclusion unfolds in this most unfortunate business.
Pull back? I would hope not. Her primary qualification is that she has a racial chip on her shoulder, and she has made a career out of implementing “racial equity” policies.
Proponents of “White Privilege” see all whites as oppressors and seek to convince whites of their guilt regardless of their actions, simply because of their “skin advantage”. Dr. Holland’s core beliefs lead her to treat whites as second class citizens and enemies. My children are not oppressors, and I will not accept anyone in our schools who tries to convince them that they are. No one should stand by idly and let a person like this become a leader in our schools.
Dr. Holland is not to blame for this. She is what she is, and only started hiding it two weeks ago after being offered a job where her radical ideas don’t match the community’s values. Simeck had to know all this, and yet he still put all of us through this. What must Simeck think of the people and the children of this community if he chose such a person? What was he trying to accomplish? The hard part is believing what so obviously must be true. Force yourself to face the ugly truth, and then act on it.
Simeck must go.
My earlier posts align with the thoughts of ‘Lake Bluff Parent’ in terms of transparency and community involvement — it is imperative at this point.
Though opposing viewpoints and letters of support are part of collaborative debate, the mindset set forth in a previous Letter to the Editor that we should just ‘trust’ the representatives we appointed is troubling. While I agree that we should not be micromanaging daily tasks, it is our job as resident ‘stakeholders’ to direct, evaluate and question their work. An impressive resume does not guarantee integrity and there are some who’s interests are completely self-serving, especially in regards to power, control and money. It only takes one individual’s hidden agenda or disordered thinking to wreak havoc in an organization and it is foolish for us to behave as bystanders. These are general comments regarding our role here – sexting ‘trusted’ principals selected by ‘trusted’ representatives and ‘trusted’ long-time political leaders who’s moral bankruptcy is splashed all over the news as we speak serves as our warning to select our representatives well, but demand transparency, integrity and collaboration along the way. Dishonest image-management coupled with our tendency to look the other way (and a naïve desire to trust) is not a good combination. Thank you to those who are paying attention.
Adrienne, thank you for writing this article. I was not aware we were adopting a new Language Arts curriculum in District 67 before reading your article.
From your article:
In response to questions by Daily North Shore, Lauren Fagel, the current assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, technology, and assessment of Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115, said in an email:
We have been asked if will be doing the same process for our Language Arts curriculum. In January, 2015, the Board of Education voted to adopt a new reading and writing curriculum.
From minutes of the BOE meetings found on the Lake Forest schools website:
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION LAKE FOREST SCHOOL DISTRICT 67 January 27, 2015
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Andersen reported that public organizations have different goals and many challenges including motivating a large group of people. The vision of the Board should be to focus on broad goals, not to be inflexible. The mission of the District is Education and is not personal. Mr. Andersen stated that it is a privilege to serve on the Board, that it is a vital role and the goal is to work together in a respectful manner.
ACTION ITEMS:
Approval of ELA Adoption
Mr. Simeck recommended adoption of the English Language Arts as discussed at the December Board meeting.
MOTION: Mrs. Fisher moved, seconded by Mrs. Clemmensen, that the Board of Education of Lake Forest School District 67, Lake Forest, Illinois, approve the English Language Arts adoption, as presented.

Votes were taken by roll call. Votes were cast as follows:
Ayes: Lemke, Borkowski, Clemmensen, Andersen, Fisher, Folker Nays:
Absent: Schuler
The motion carried unanimously.
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION LAKE FOREST SCHOOL DISTRICT 67 December 15, 2014
English Language Adoption Report
Mrs. Fagel, Ms. Milsk and Dr. Wilcox reported on the English Language Arts Adoption recommendation. The recommendation includes balanced literacy and workshops for reading/writing, ensuring that all students and teachers are moving in the same direction and that every student is getting the best education. The workshop model includes a mini lesson led by the teacher with independent student work in writing/reading. The workshop creates student ownership, develops and strengthens writing by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach. The program offers a year long, research based, naturally differentiated routine where students have extended time frames for research, reflection and revision. The theory is learning through doing. The anticipated implementation of the K-8 writing program is 2015-2016 and K-8 reading in 2016-2017.
First of all, thank you for posting this Adrienne. It’s very helpful in sorting out and understanding a timeline as to how we got to where we are today.
The one point that I am still unclear about is bullet point 4 in the search process. It states:
“a team of teachers, students and parent representatives interviewed the candidates and narrowed the pool down to three and then to one, their top choice being Dr. Holland” (no search firm at any step in the process?)
I would like to know how this group was selected. Was there an open request sent to all stakeholders in both Lake Forest and Lake Bluff asking community members to join? Otherwise, I am uncertain how any other selection process could create a committee that could represent the interests of both communities at large. If it was an open call and I missed the memo, you can stop reading my post now. Otherwise, the rest of my post is relevant and I hope an answer can be provided to my question.
In Lake Bluff, we had a series of admin personnel turnover over the last 10 years. Often times, parent committees were formed to have input on many important decisions in the district. These committees always seemed to have formed without an open call to join. Were the rest of us supposed to trust that these unknown selected people were qualified and representative of the community interests without bias? The results of those decisions never seemed to work out long term. Trust was not built, collaboration between community and district did not happen. Our current superintendent, Dr. Jean Sophie, has an approach that I believe has been successful in our district. I have seen more positive change in this district since her arrival. One important being communication to serve on committees has been opened to all stakeholders – a big step in creating transparency, respect, trust. Her philosophical approach can be summed up in her closing on her memos, “In Partnership”. Without that basic premise, the LFHS community is where it is today.
Going forward, I think it is prudent to have some sort of consistent protocol in hiring that is transparent and allows for open, inclusive community input. Current District 115 Superintendent Michael Simeck went through such a process when he interviewed for a position at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan just before coming to Lake Forest.
You can read about it here.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20100414/bloomfield-hills-school-board-chooses-new-superintendent-after-lengthy-search
Look carefully at the steps and time frame involved. Makes a lot of sense, seems fair to all stakeholders. (Note paragraph 7, the final 2 candidates were held up to an open community meeting for a public Q & A.)
Collaboration, transparency, and the inclusion of an unbiased third party (e.g. search firm) must be a priority going forward or we can continue to expect more of what we are going through now in the future.