[Reporter’s note: I did not use the teachers’ names during public participation.]
As you may know, I organized a Go Fund Me page to help with legal costs, as well-regarded teacher reps Mr. Caputi and Ms. Szulkowski have sued MSG Davis for defamation.
Way back in November 2022, a petition, signed by 50 staff members was presented to this council. It demanded that MSG Davis’ false accusations stop. But he didn’t stop. He continued telling lies about my colleagues through his fake flyers, fake email accounts, and false statements. These lies have damaged them and our whole school so much.
It’s bad enough that he is spreading lies to adults, he’s also harming students. In December, a student was in my room leafing through a yearbook. She saw a picture and said, “That’s the teacher who uses the n word.” I asked her who said that. She said, “Sargeant.”
This is an outrage. Like the dozens of faculty members who signed the petition, I know my friends never use racist language and are not racist. To lie and say that is utterly damaging.
Look, it’s Ramadan and Lent, and at this time some of us focus on fasting, giving, and prayer; also love — the basis of everything. All of us in this room can be loving people: we love our families, we care about our students. Lefty is leading community circles to help us connect more with each other. That’s loving.
But please don’t confuse loyalty with love. In this, Dr. Vilchez’s first experience as a principal, she’s closely aligned herself with MSG Davis. She’s loyal to him, but so unloving as she uses his lies to go after our teachers.
Where are the consequences? The principal is accountable to you.
I ask you to put aside ideas of loyalty and consider that using lies and elevating those who lie is unloving and bad leadership.
Steinmetz teachers Gina Szulkowski and Vince Caputi filed a defamation suit against Steinmetz JROTC director Cornell Davis in 2023, after his false accusations against the two threatened their jobs, reputations, and professional memberships. Steinmetz Principal Anna Vilchez used anonymous emails, found through legal discovery to be created by Davis, and other claims Davis made to the Local School Council as grounds for EEOC complaints and disciplinary action against the two.
Szulkowski is the Chicago Teachers Union delegate at Steinmetz. Caputi is a teacher representative on the LSC.
The fundraiser states: “As those of us at the February 18, 2025, union meeting at Steinmetz saw in a well-documented presentation, false and anonymous accusations made by (at least) one person in our building escalated to administrative action against our Chicago Teachers Union delegate Gina Szulkowski and Local School Council representative Vince Caputi. The attack to their jobs and reputations is breathtakingly unfair, as in their roles as our representatives they’ve only pushed for better policies and contract enforcement to benefit our whole school. While they’ve filed a defamation lawsuit, the main perpetrator against them, clearly discovered through legal subpoenas, remains in a leadership position. Gina and Vince’s fight continues. Please sacrifice a little cash to help. They’ve sacrificed so much on behalf of us. BTW: They did not suggest this fundraiser, but we know they could use financial assistance. Lawsuits are expensive.”
This letter serves as a rebuttal to the “Performance Improvement Process” First Warning issued to me on March 5, 2025, by Steinmetz Principal Anna Vilchez.
I disagree with everything on the document and nearly everything Principal Vilchez said in a meeting held on March 5. Chicago Teachers Union Field Representative Eden McCauslin and Meyer Reynolds, a Steinmetz assistant principal, also attended the meeting at 8 a.m. in the principal’s office.
On the “Performance Improvement Process” Principal Vilchez noted that because I didn’t alter my personal GoFundMe page per her directive that two corrective action categories found in the Board’s Misconduct/Discipline Matrix apply to me:
1. H-19 ETHICS – GIFTS: Accepting anything of value, including, but not limited to, a gift, favor, loan, or promise of future employment, based upon any explicit or implicit mutual understanding that actions will be influenced.
2. P5 INSUBORDINATION: Refusal to carry out a rule, order, or directive from a supervisor related to the performance of one’s duty, including refusing to participate in or avoiding any part of the REACH evaluation process; Leaving any duty assignment without permission.
The misconduct charges do not apply to me.
Regarding “H-19 ETHICS,” I have not accepted anything of value based upon any explicit or implicit mutual understanding that actions will be influenced. My fundraiser is not based on my being an employee of the Board of Education and a teacher at Steinmetz. I am not explicitly or implicitly suggesting to anyone that their donation will influence me. As a teacher without any leadership roles, I have no influence. This misconduct code does not apply to me.
Regarding “P5 INSUBORDINATION,” I did not refuse to carry out a rule, order, or directive from a supervisor related to the performance of my duty, including refusing to participate in or avoiding any part of the REACH evaluation process. I did not leave any duty assignment without permission. While I refused to follow the principal’s directive to alter my GoFundMe page, that is not insubordination. The principal does not have jurisdiction over the things I do that are not related to my employment. In addition, I did not violate any CPS Ethics Code or Board policy. There is no valid reason for me to remove or alter the page.
During the meeting, the principal asserted that she had verified with Jennifer Chan, Ethics Advisor at Board of Education, and CPS human resource administrator Shaquille Blakey that I violated a policy by publishing on my GoFundMe page 1) a picture showing the inside of Steinmetz and 2) the name of Steinmetz. I don’t believe that these Board administrators said this due to misinformation in an earlier email sent by Principal Vilchez.
Principal Vilchez sent an email to the Steinmetz staff on Monday, February 24, subject line “CPS Office of Ethics,” in which she stated, “I want to remind everyone that the CPS Office of Ethics has clear guidelines regarding the use of school photos and the school’s name. According to CPS policy images of a CPS school—both interior and exterior—as well as the school’s name, may not be used for GoFundMe pages or any other fundraising platforms.”
These statements are false. There are no guidelines, clear or otherwise, regarding the use of school photos and the school’s name. In addition, there is no CPS policy that states that images of a CPS school—both interior and exterior—as well as the school’s name, may not be used for GoFundMe pages or any other fundraising platforms.
On March 6, as I signed the receipt of the “Performance Improvement Process,” Principal Vilchez said that that language in her email came from “higher ups” in CPS.
The “Ethical Standard” that Principal Vilchez cited, as if I violated it, is “Board Property and Funds.” In the “Performance Improvement Process” document, Principal Vilchez copied the following language from the standard: “Board property and funds shall be used only for Board purposes and in the manner specified or directed by the Board. No misuse of Board property or funds shall be permitted.”
I did not violate this standard. My photo and the school name are not Board property.
Under the section of the “Performance Improvement Process” in which the directions are to “Follow Up: Describe specifically any changes that need to occur to resolve the deficiency as well as any assistance that will be provided to support needed changes, if any,” Principal Vilchez listed the following:
1. Adhere to the CPS Board Policy of Ethics
a. Policy was emailed again to the teacher and Field Rep by the principal at their request (email sent 3/5/35).
2. Follow the directive from CPS to remove the image and name of the school as
required by the CPS Office of Ethics and Board Policy.
My response is that I do adhere to the CPS Board Policy of Ethics. I have not violated any ethics policies. I will not remove or alter the image and remove the name Steinmetz from my GoFundMe page unless I hear this from a higher authority who can show me a relevant policy.
A side note about myself as a journalist
In the meeting with Principal Vilchez I told her that between the years of 1998 and 2020 I reported many stories about the Chicago Public Schools for Substance Newspaper. (Substance covers public education in Chicago. It was a monthly print newspaper from 1975 to 2012, then became an online news service. My late husband was a founder of the paper and its long-time editor. I am the owner.)
Over those 22 years, I published more than 200 stories in Substance. Many of my news reports and commentaries included photos of school buildings and photos taken inside school buildings. Some of the stories I published involved the Local School Councils, principals, and network chiefs of schools where I taught. I referred to all places and people by name.
I told Principal Vilchez this to share that I have much experience with the Chicago Public Schools, its various departments, and news stories with large implications. While I haven’t been posting new content to the Substance News site for a few years, it remains active so that people may access our archives and to memorialize my late husband.
My GoFundMe page raises money for two teachers’ legal fees, as they have filed a defamation lawsuit against Cornell Davis, a Steinmetz JROTC instructor. While their suit is public information and has been posted on social media, my guess is that the GoFundMe page is threatening to Principal Vilchez as it raises more publicity. I told her that I am certain a news story about the issues faced by my Steinmetz teacher colleagues would be widely read.
School Truth 