Proviso East Assistant Principal for Educational Services Kisha Lang is still an employee of Proviso District 209, but she is on suspension. The Proviso Township High School Board voted to table the termination of an administrator, identified only by number, at the Oct. 15 board meeting. Students, teachers and her husband all encouraged the board to hold off on firing Lang at the meeting.
The former Chicago Public School turnaround administrator was brought on board in 2011 to help raise test scores and standardize the curriculum. But Lang’s management style has rubbed some the wrong way.
Lang was criticized and labeled a “bully” during public comments at D209 board meetings. She was named in an April 11 lawsuit against the district for retaliatory discharge by a PEHS security guard.
In his April 2014 lawsuit, fired Proviso East Security Manager Robert Taylor accused Lang of using employees to perform personal errands. Taylor said he was fired in retaliation after he informed the principal and others about what Lang was allegedly doing.
In February, Proviso East cheerleaders tearfully told the board of education that Lang had threatened them with arrest if they did not cheer at a Proviso West basketball game, Feb. 8. The girls said they refused to cheer in support of their suspended coach, Launa “C.C.” Mobley, who had been escorted out of the building shortly beforehand. Mobley was under investigation for allegedly shoving a student, but her termination was cancelled by the board. One student said Lang threatened her with a 10-day suspension if she did not board a bus.
More recently, at the Sept. 16 board meeting, veteran Proviso East Math teacher Clotilde Frankiewicz, a former interim and assistant principal at Proviso Math and Science Academy, told the board she formally filed two complaints against an unnamed administrator at Proviso East whom she claimed had “done a breach of board policy 7.20 — intimidation, bullying and harassing” and who “has made no effort to be sympathetic with students about the confusion with their schedules.”
Lang came to Proviso East in 2011 from the Chicago Public Schools, where she served as a turnaround administrator at Orr Academy High School.
She helped state Senator Kimberly Lightford at Lightford’s Saturday University in Westchester, an eight-month tutoring program for middle-school students, many of whom will feed into D209 for high school.
“It was my understanding Proviso East hired her for her experience with turnaround-school initiatives,” Lightford said.
“When change is implemented, there’s always controversy, especially if there’s significant change,” Lightford added. “I’m not sure if Ms. Lang’s approach was welcomed by her peers and the colleagues she managed.”
Lang graduated with a master’s degree in education from Concordia University and is working on a PhD in Educational Leadership and Administration from Capella University, according to her Linked-In profile. Lang’s salary was $120,530 in the 2013-14 school year.
Lang’s name and phone number are no longer listed on the Proviso East website staff list. The position of assistant principal for educational services is listed as vacant on the district’s website.
— Jean Lotus
Michael Romain contributed to this article.
