Substitute Teacher Fired for Trying to Save Student's Life
By Jim Vail
Second City Teacher



What happens when you try to save a kid's life by preventing him from crossing a dangerous street?

Well, if you are Peter Nerad, and you work for the Chicago Public Schools, you get fired.

Nerad was a substitute teacher at Lane Tech High School until this past January when he was supervising over 200 students during a fire drill.

Suddenly, one of the students started to run across Addison Street and Nerad quickly ran to prevent the boy from getting hit.  

He held the student by his back pack to keep him in the narrow dividing lines and then pulled him back a few steps toward campus.  

"I held him until it was safe to go," Nerad told Second City Teacher.  "He was pulling away because he was on his lunch time and wanted to go to McDonalds."

The fact that two kids were hit by cars crossing this busy street also prompted Nerad to think and act fast, he said.

However, another Lane Tech teacher was apparently upset that Nerad had touched a child, and then claimed he was "confrontational" when she asked him his name.  

So Nerad found himself in the principal's office about the incident.  He had no idea that this heroic act would then be used against him.

"The principal Dr. Dingham said, 'You dragged the kid across the street?'," Nerad said.  "When I explained the obvious safety concerns and split second decision making involved, the principal then asked, 'Well, where exactly were the cars."

It certainly appeared that Nerad became yet another unwilling victim in the CPS quest to fire teachers, no matter how ridiculous the charges are.

Nerad had been told before his hearing to "be careful" because CPS is going after subs (and you wonder why the schools can't get subs).

Nerad was charged with "conduct unbecoming an employee of the Chicago School Board."

"I held the kid by the backpack because I was afraid he would get hit by a car," Nerad told the hearing officer.  "All of my actions that I took was to keep the student safe, especially in light of the fact that two students had been seriously hit on Western Ave. several weeks before."

The Lane Tech teacher Melissa Smith, who reported on him, apparently had a beef with the fact he did not immediately respond to her question about his name.

Smith claimed she was a victim of "verbal abuse" because Nerad responded to her question by saying, "Why don't you come over here and I'll tell you what my name is," according to the hearing transcript.

But Nerad told the hearing officer, as if it mattered at all, that he actually said, "I'm not going to yell over four lanes of traffic.  If you come here I will tell you my name."

He held the student by his back pack to keep him in the narrow dividing lines and then pulled him back a few steps toward campus.

The verdict came back guilty as charged.

"This is to notify you that, as a result of the hearing held in the Office of Employee Engagement on April 18, 2013, we have substantiated the allegations described in our letter to you dated April 8, 2013.  Therefore, it has been determined that your services as a substitute teacher are no longer required.  You will be terminated as an employee of the Chicago Public Schools effective the date of this letter.  You are ineligible for future employment with the Chicago Public Schools.  Sincerely, Thomas Krieger, Assistant Director."

Since when does a co-worker have the right to demand someone's name in public, especially during a fire drill when you are responsible for the safety of some 200 students?

This definition of "verbal abuse" that CPS used to justify firing a teacher for his heroic act would only be understood on a late night comedy hour.

But it keeps the CPS wheels turning, by ridding the schools of those who fight for safety, making it safe for the informers whose feelings are hurt when they don't get the right answer.

Nerad said his Chicago Teacher Union rep would appeal the decision, by saying she'll put it on the "pile with all the other fired subs."

"I guess the pile means they won't be getting back to me any time soon," Nerad said.

I told him he has to write a book about this and see if anyone will believe it's true.