UC Removal of Principal Hagstrom from Walt Disney School

I interviewed with her once, it was extremely uncomfortable. I felt there were racially geared questions.

A horrid woman who never should have gotten as far as she did. She never did anything about the bullying that happened there, and to now hear all the blatantly racist, sexist, and ableist thinks she has done and said is disgusting. As a former student, we all knew from a very young age what a rude and hateful woman she was.

These are serious allegations that need to be investigated by CPS.

Parent of two former Disney students

If even some of these accusations are true, this principal must be removed. My parents were teachers/administrators for 30+ years, 50 years ago, and even then, would not have tolerated such behavior.

A former alumni of Walt Disney

CPS needs to investigate these very serious concerns.

The circumstances are extremely alarming. I'm going to network with affluent individuals on the matter.

In a city like Chicago, there is no room for racism to the degree that has been expressed below. A school should be a safe zone. Parents should feel comfortable about dropping their children off to a place where they are cared for and respected. To have a PRINCIPAL, a leader in a position that can build students up and create community, she has only initiated dismay and distress. I stand with the teachers, staff, parents, and students of Disney!

In solidarity with you!

How great if we could get rid of all passive/aggressive, public bullying, abusive principals!

Where is the LSC on removing her for cause? They have the power to do so.

Students are absolutely tracked! You can completely map out who their 8th grade teacher will be once you know who the K teacher is.

6 years ago Featured

I've long heard comments from parents at Disney who are having trouble from everything including IEPs and reporting bullying. If Dr. Hagstrom decides she doesn't like you or your family, you are guaranteed that she will go after you and make your life hard.

Abusive adults have no place in schools!

This shouldn’t happen. Please remove her!

Used to be a Walt Disney student had to leave 13 years ago

The Disney student body is one of the most diverse in the city, and Dr. Hagstrom often touts diversity as a strength of the school.  Her policies, however, use test scores as an excuse to effectively segregate the learning environments within the building.  Children are tracked and provided with unequal access to the school's curriculum starting in Kindergarten.  Under-privelaged African-American boys are the least likely to be placed in "higher" level classes and, because they are tracked in less challenging classes, are less likely than their peers to show improvement over time.  Though multiple teachers and parents have challenged her, Dr. Hagstrom refuses to educate herself about best practice and continues these racist and ineffective policies.

I am a former Disney teacher. I witnessed Dr. Hagstrom belittle teachers to the point of tears, in front of students. I heard her make inappropriate comments about teachers’ appearances more times than I can count. On multiple occasions. she tried to strong arm special ed teachers into noncompliance of students’ IEPs, insisting that students stay in the gen ed classroom for testing, when they had “ test in a separate location” mandated in their IEPs. Disney was a place where we all walked on eggshells in at attempt to avoid Dr. Hagstrom’s wrath. Most mornings I cried in the car on the way to work, and was beyond relieved when I left that abusive environment. I know of multiple families who pulled their children from Disney because of the toxic environment. I am horrified that Dr. Hagstrom is still there, and hope that this chapter will finally come to an end so the Disney community can recover and rebuild.

I don't teach at Disney, but I've been hearing these stories for a while. At the very least, CPS needs to seriously investigate these allegations.