Teacher Made Anti-Muslim, Racist Comments, Lisle Student Says

LISLE, IL — A Lisle High School sophomore hopes to inspire change after she said an instructor "singled her out" and directed bigoted, anti-Muslim comments at her during a health class in mid-October.

Zoya Shaik, who is Muslim and recently began wearing hijab, said the teacher went on a "25-minute tirade" that included racist comments and a "barrage of allegations" about Muslims. Parents and a former student joined Shaik at Monday's District 202 meeting, alleging they had also experienced antisemitism from teachers and students in the district.

Shaik told Patch the Oct. 12 incident began after she corrected the instructor, who referred to indigenous Americans as "Indians."

Shaik, who is Indian-American, said she "told her multiple times that this isn't the right term" and explained it was "offensive and disrespectful and completely inaccurate."

She said the teacher responded by saying, "You people need to stop being so particular about these things."

According to Shaik, the teacher continued to use the phrases "these people" and "your people" while demanding background checks for Muslim lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who also wears hijab.

Another instructor was in the classroom, as were roughly 20 students, ages 14 to 16 years old, Shaik told Patch, but no one intervened.

“No one spoke up," she said. "No one knew how to say anything to stop the interaction.”

Shaik said she was shocked by the exchange.

"I stopped talking after a while because I didn’t know how I could correct what she was doing," she said, telling board members the instructor ended her comments with a "vulgar profanity."

Shaik said she and her mother, Sara Sadat, brought the issue up to administrators the following day and were told the matter would be investigated. Since then, Shaik said she has not received any updates.

At Monday's District 202 meeting, Shaik said she would like the district to implement bystander intervention training, cultural sensitivity training and an anti-bullying campaign for teachers, staff, students and parents.

It's "not too late to start," she said.

Those sentiments were echoed by Kathleen Gill, the mother of a freshman and senior who attend Lisle High School.

“I’m embarrassed that it’s taken me coming here because of a sophomore who is brave enough to come and speak out when I have been silent," Gill told district officials. She added that her daughters told her they had witnessed at least one teacher make antisemitic comments to a student.

This teacher "talks continually about politics and [makes] people feel marginalized," Gill said, adding that her family has considered moving due to the things her daughters have experienced in the school district.

Daniele Cole, whose daughter is a freshman at Lisle High School, said a teacher threatened to “kick her [daughter’s] ass." Her daughter, Jules, graduated from Lisle High School in 2018 and claimed she was shown a Nazi flag by another student because she is Jewish.

“Most of Jules's career in the Lisle district has been bullying," Cole said, adding that there was "no support from the administration to help my daughter control what was happening in her school."

There is "nothing this administration does to protect against any antisemitism, bullying, sexual harassment, death threats," Cole said, explaining that she was also "picked on" for being Jewish while she was growing up. “When is the time that it is going to stop?”

At Monday's meeting, Lisle CUSD 202 President Daniel Helderle called the allegations "deplorable" and promised action.

"You have our attention," Helderle said. "This is serious."

Lisle CUSD 202 shared the following statement with Patch Tuesday afternoon:

"The Lisle District 202 Board of Education and Administration are committed to ensuring that each and every student feels safe and respected in our schools. The concerns raised at the October 25, 2021 Board Meeting have been taken very seriously. The situation has been, and continues to be, under investigation.

At this time, our Lisle 202 Administrative Team is in contact with the students and parents who shared concerns at the meeting. The team is working diligently to learn more in order to create a path forward that reflects the positive culture we advocate and work for, and addresses these concerns so that situations like this may be prevented in the future."