An Oak Lawn high school teacher’s stand on the Pledge of Allegiance in his classroom drew corrective action from administrators, according to the school’s superintendent.
Christopher Repa, a physics teacher at Oak Lawn Community High School, posted a sign outside his classroom door Friday indicating that students who did not stand for the pledge were not welcome in his class, Michael Riordan, superintendent of the single-school Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, said Wednesday.
The placement of the sign was “promptly brought to the administration’s attention by both students and other staff members, and the sign was removed within 30 minutes after it was posted,” Riordan said in an email Wednesday.
“We have taken corrective action to ensure that this does not happen again,” Riordan said.
The superintendent declined to elaborate on what the correction action was, and whether it involved disciplinary action.
Repa did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Riordan said that while the district encourages students to stand and participate in the daily pledge, they are not required to do so.
“This is not a mandate, and students are not subject to any consequences for non-participation,” he said.
The superintendent would not say whether the teacher’s action drew more than a strong rebuke.
“The matter was addressed by the administration with Mr. Repa to ensure our school district’s expectations were fully understood and that this action was unacceptable,” Riordan said.
mnolan@tribpub.com
