Orland Park school’s hiring of assistant principal under scrutiny from parents

Orland Park parents question hiring of school assistant principal

A recent hire at an Orland Park school is sparking outrage among parents over his age and past social media posts.

ORLAND PARK, Ill. - A recent hire at an Orland Park school is sparking outrage among parents. 

With school set to start in just a few weeks, a new assistant principal has found himself at the center of controversy.

What we know:

At least 200 community members packed a special school board meeting Monday night — where the recent hiring of Tremaine Harris by Orland School District 135 dominated public comment.

Parents and community members who attended the meeting say they feel Harris, who was named as Century Junior High's new assistant principal, was hired quietly and without transparency. 

They are also questioning his experience and a resurfaced social media post. 

What they're saying:

Harris previously taught mathematics at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, a CPS school on the city's South Side, and according to Teach Plus, was a Golden Apple Scholar. 

But a group of parents whose children are enrolled in the district say Harris lacks experience for the administrative position. 

According to a job posting for the assistant principal role, "at least five years' successful teaching experience" is required. Harris is 26 years old, and according to LinkedIn, graduated from the University of Illinois in 2021.

"It has more to do with how the district has done it, it has more to do with how the process has unfolded. How do we go from 17 years of experience to simply none. As an individual in this meeting has talked about, he recently just got his license to be an administrator January 27, 2025," said Yasser Samad, a former student. 

"If you look at the other two assistant principals hired for the other two junior highs in Orland Park, that being Jerling School and Orland Junior High, the individuals hired at those schools had more than 15 years of experience and advanced degrees," added Dean Morrell, a community member. 

Parents also shared that they are fired up over a resurfaced Instagram post, which has since been taken down, showing Harris posing in a cowboy hat with a caption that reads: "It should cost a billion to look this [expletive]" — which are lyrics from a Beyonce song.

Some community members believe the post, which they say was shared on a public account, is inappropriate coming from an administrator. 

"He doesn't seem to be qualified or even experienced enough for this position. Other candidates may have been a better fit for this," said Brittany Ulaszek, a parent.

"We are demanding that you reconsider your decision," added Jodi Benson, another parent.

What's next:

As of 9:30 p.m., school board members were still in closed session. It was unclear when they would return to public session to adjourn the meeting. 

FOX 32 Chicago reached out to Orland School District 135 Superintendent John Bryk, Associate Supt. Dave Snyder, and Human Resources Director Suzanne Owens for comment but did not immediately hear back.  

FOX 32 also made attempts to reach Harris but did not receive a response. He also did not attend the special board meeting.

UPDATE as of 2 p.m. Tuesday: Community members say Orland School District 135 board members did not return from closed session until after 11 p.m. Monday night. When they did, no action was taken. Additionally, a live stream of the meeting prior to closed session, which was originally more than 55 minutes long, has been edited down to 4 minutes and 42 seconds. The edited video clip, which can be found HERE, no longer includes public comment.

Editor's Note: Based on information provided to us by a district staff member, our initial report stated that the superintendent, associate superintendent, and the district's HR director were not in attendance at Monday's meeting. However, FOX 32 has since learned they were present.