Hinsdale South Official Takes Heat From Athletic Groups

HINSDALE, IL – Two more leaders in Darien's athletic community have joined in the mounting criticism of Hinsdale South High School's athletic director.

Under Director Art Ostrow's leadership, they said, South is not engaging with younger athletes who are the school's future students.

Ostrow and Principal Kari Peronto did not return messages for comment early Tuesday morning.

At a school board meeting Monday, Shawn Scheirer, who holds leadership positions in two organizations, called for Ostrow's ouster.

"I'm begging this board, if they've not already made the decision, please replace this man and give the kids the opportunity to engage with older kids, high school coaches," said Scheirer, vice president of Darien Swarm football and secretary of the Darien Youth Club.

Last year alone, Darien Swarm lost about eight top-tier athletes to private Catholic high schools, Scheirer said.

Those schools, he said, showed an interest in the youths, while South did not.

"While we've attempted to engage with high school coaches, we've been met with stonewalls of conversations such as 'we have to get permission from the AD' (or) 'the AD is not approving this,'" Scheirer said. "I can point the finger at one person, and that's where my heart breaks. Because I know our high school coaches want to engage. I know they want to help wherever they can, but they can't because they're held back by one person."

Courtney D'Andrea, the cheer director for Darien Swarm, said her group was told last year that they would no longer have access to South's mats for cheerleading, making it less safe to practice routines.

Last season, D'Andrea said she left email and phone messages for Ostrow to address the mat situation.

She said she finally received a response. He started the conversation by saying he doesn't return messages from youth programs, but did so as a favor to someone else in the school whom she had contacted, she said.

"It's the only reason I received a phone call back, which is quite sad," D'Andrea said.

This is in contrast to other schools, D'Andrea said, where directors are offering facilities, helping with camps and meeting young athletes.

Last month, the head of another local youth sports organization denounced Ostrow's performance.

Meanwhile, a key member of the athletic department defended Ostrow.

Over the last year, two coaches who are also South PE teachers resigned from their athletic gigs, criticizing the school's administration.

Ostrow was hired as South's athletic director in 2015. He held the same position at Riverside-Brookfield High School.