LaTonya Applewhite, the director of equity and student success at Oak Park and River Forest High School, has resigned her job a little more than five weeks after she was placed on paid leave following her broadcasting a somewhat revealing Facebook Live video from her office. In the video she was demonstrating a waist shaping device.
Applewhite was placed on a paid leave beginning Sept. 5 that was supposed to last until Dec. 31. But on Oct. 16 Applewhite was hired as the Director of Human Resources at Dolton School District 149, an eight school, 2,227 student elementary school district in the south suburbs. That hiring prompted her resignation from OPRF although she had not been expected to return to OPRF. Applewhite’s resignation from OPRF was effective on Oct. 14 and was approved by the OPRF school board as part of the personnel report that was included on the consent agenda at the school board’s Oct. 23 meeting. The District 149 school board voted to hire Applewhite on Oct. 16. Applewhite told Wednesday Journal in an email that her annual salary at District 149 is $140,000. Her salary at OPRF was $157,480.
Applewhite declined to answer specific questions about her departure from OPRF.
“I have moved on and have no further comment,” Applewhite wrote in an email.
Applewhite was placed on leave after posting a short Facebook Live video in which she filmed herself putting on and talking about a corset-like waist shaping device in her school office sometime in August. Wednesday Journal obtained the one minute 47-second-long Facebook Live video after filing a public records request with OPRF.
“Let’s get to work, I got stuff to do,” Applewhite said at the end of the video.
A similar video, which appears to have been made at Applewhite’s home also shows her putting on the device and talking about it. It was posted to Applewhite’s Instagram account. She used the Instagram handle Tonya B Glowing and infiniteglowgoddess to promote the waist shaping device saying that she was “[T}rying to keep my midsection snatched.”
According to sources Wednesday Journal spoke with who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation or the sensitivity of the situation a number of people at OPRF saw Applewhite’s Facebook Live video as it was being broadcast.
While OPRF officials have remained publicly mum about why Applewhite was placed on paid leave, documents obtained by Wednesday Journal through a public records request indicate that Applewhite was apparently given a choice to go on paid leave or face termination proceedings.
On Aug. 26 Applewhite attended what was termed a “due process interview” with OPRF District 200 Superintendent Greg Johnson, HR Director Roxana Sanders, and Director of Employee Relations & Recruitment Janel Bishop according to emails obtained by Wednesday Journal. Three days later Applewhite sent an email to Johnson telling him that she had obtained a lawyer through the Illinois Principals Association and asking for the name of the lawyer handling the matter for OPRF.
“I wanted to inform you that I have sought legal representation through IPA regarding my current situation,” Applewhite wrote.
Applewhite was a member of the OPRF district leadership team. She reported directly to Johnson. Applewhite again met with top OPRF administrators on Sept. 3. At that time, she was apparently given the choice to take a paid leave until Dec. 31 or face being fired. Soon after that meeting Sanders sent an email to Applewhite.
“Thank you for meeting with us earlier today,” Sanders wrote in an email to Applewhite that was sent at 6:06 p.m. on Sept. 3. “Please see attached for your records the notice that was hand delivered to you during the meeting,” Sanders wrote in the email. “Please let us know your decision by Monday Sept. 8.”
Wednesday Journal was not given a copy of the attachment to the email or any notice that was hand delivered to Applewhite.
Applewhite’s name was never mentioned during the public portion of the school board meetings in which the school board voted to place her on paid leave on Sept. 11 and then to accept her resignation on Oct. 23. Rather both items were just part of the personnel report that is voted on at many meetings. The names of the people in the personnel report are typically not mentioned during school board meetings and only become public the day after the meeting when the contents of the personnel report are posted on the OPRF web site.
Last month Lee Williams, who had been a transitions specialist at OPRF, was named interim director of equity and student success.
“I wish Dr. Applewhite all the best in her new role,” Johnson said in a text message. “No one anticipates looking for a new administrator in October, but we are confident we are in good hands with Dr. Lee Williams as our interim director, leading this work for the remainder of the year.”
Williams is now the fourth person to hold the equity director job at OPRF since it was established in 2019. He follows Applewhite, Patrick Hardy and LeVar Ammons.
Applewhite came to OPRF in 2022. Before coming to District 200 Applewhite worked in three academic administrative positions at Rich Township High School District 227. She began her career in education in 2005 when she was hired to be an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. She taught for seven years before becoming an education support specialist and then a principal and associate principal at CPS before going to Rich Township District 227 in 2018.
Applewhite earned a PhD. in teacher leadership from Concordia University. She earned two master’s degrees from Chicago State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Alcorn State University in 2002.
Although equity is perhaps the top priority of the OPRF school board and of paramount importance to the school administration, Applewhite was not a forceful presence at OPRF. She infrequently presented at school board meetings.
“I never saw her; she was pretty non-existent,” said one OPRF teacher who asked not to be identified because teachers at OPRF are generally instructed not to speak to the press without prior authorization from the administration. “I don’t think people even thought about her. I just kind of thought of her as somebody who was there.”
