Glenbrook South Band Director Warned Over 'Inappropriate Conduct'

GLENVIEW, IL — The band director at Glenbrook South High School failed to investigate or report allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse, made comments about bombs and school shootings and treated a student teacher unprofessionally, the school board said.

Aaron Wojcik has repeatedly demonstrated poor judgement over the past two years, according to a letter from the Glenbrook High School District 225 board, which said his "inappropriate and unsatisfactory" conduct warrants firing if he fails to correct it.

Records show the District 225 board voted 6-0, with one member absent, to send a "notice to remedy" to Wojcik following a closed-door discussion in September. The district provided a copy of the resolution and notice in response to a public records request from Patch.

According to the board, a female student notified Wojcik in August 2019 of complaints about a paid consultant working with the band program. She told Wojcik the veteran jazz trumpeter had kissed her hand, unnecessarily took her by the arm and stood behind her for an unnecessarily long time.

Wojcik, 33, dismissed the teen's concerns and attempted to justify the consultant's conduct, "suggesting he did not understand how times have changed," instead of confronting him or notifying administrators, the board alleged. This led the student, feeling unsupported, to email her concerns to Principal Lauren Fagel. The previous year, Wojcik failed to investigate a complaint by a parent that the same consultant had verbally abused a student, according to the board.

In April 2018, a student teacher assigned to work with Wojcik was abruptly dismissed after saying she felt unsupported and intimidated. Wojcik, according to the board, failed to maintain an appropriate professional relationship with the student teacher, who he would send out to buy him lunch. Administrators did not learn the full story of the student teacher's departure until her university called to find out why she had been dismissed.

That same month, the board said Wojcik made a pair of inappropriate references to "shooting" with students present — one involved how students were playing a piece of music and the other a reference to targeting absent students, according to the notice. In November 2018, Wojcik made a comment in front of students about the use of a pipe bomb, which was "supposedly made in jest," according to the board.

"When confronted by [administrators] about these statements, you were evasive and dishonest," the board told Wojcik. "[Y]our behavior demonstrates a troubling tendency to put your own interests and the interests of other adults ahead of the best interests of our students. This tendency appears to emerge when you or another adult has engaged in misconduct that could result in discipline."

Wojcik is the son of former Glenbrook South band director Greg Wojcik, who retired in 2017 after 38 years in the role, according to a profile in the school newspaper.

As corrective action, the board demanded Wojcik follow seven directives: he must immediately report any allegations of adult misconduct, fulfill his responsibilities under state law as a mandatory reporter of abuse, be "completely honest and forthcoming" with his supervisors, demonstrate student safety as a top priority and not try to protect people who have engaged in misconduct involving students, complete mandated reporter training and any other training administrators assign, abide by all district policies and not talk about the notice to remedy with anyone other than administrators and a union representative.