Chicago City Wire

Noble Schools is defending its hiring of Lauren “Big Boobs” Fagel.

Fagel’s sister, Director of Executive Operations Brooke Sternfield Semel,  is an administrator at Noble Schools.

While the Chicago Public Schools code of ethics disallows siblings from serving under one another, the charter network doesn’t appear to have posted its code regarding nepotism.

The school tells Chicago City Wire it has taken the issue into consideration as well as the allegations against Fagel regarding repeated instances of sexual harassment.  

"Noble is firmly committed to providing a safe learning and working environment for all of its students and staff,” Claudia Rodriguez, chief of public affairs, at Noble Schools told Chicago City Wire. “Fagel underwent a thorough vetting and screening process that covered the scope of her qualifications for the role as well as a required background check. Noble holds an anti-nepotism policy that was also followed during the hiring process. An unconfirmed allegation from a previous place of employment is not a factor that would bar her, or anyone else, from employment. Noble does not have visibility into the status of these allegations and cannot comment.”

Fagel earned the nickname “Big Boobs” from parent activists after a whistleblower lawsuit was filed over her use of sexual terminology toward staff. It was a term she allegedly used to describe a former employee’s wife.

“It is/was a constant reference,” notes from a whistleblower said. “This is clear objectification, occurred (s) over the course of several years to a captive audience and said simply to be vindictive.”

The whistleblower recently exposed former Fagel for making blatantly sexual comments to employees, including about their physical characteristics.

Notes from the whistleblower who documented the treatment said Fagel “has a history of ongoing use of sexual references” and “I feel physically sick when I pull into the parking lot.”

Fagel resigned from Glenbrook School District 225 on July 6 after multiple accusations of on the job harassment toward school employees.

The district agreed to pay her $53,000 and to cover her health care costs for the remainder of 2021, North Cook News reported.

Some of the school district documents included profane text messages from Fagel to other employees as well as Fagel’s warnings to members of Glenbrook South’s Administrative Council against including opinions about a reopening plan.

Noble Schools' charter status may protect it from nepotism standards common elsewhere.

For instance, Chicago Public Schools notes its rules regarding siblings working together in its code of ethics.

“No, this violates the nepotism provisions in our Code of Ethics. Under our code, supervisors may not supervise a relative, and an assistant principal is considered a supervisor of all other employees in the school. Refer to Section VI (F) from the Nepotism section of the Code and Section II (HH) from the Definitions section of the Code of Ethics (located on page 11) if you have questions,” Chicago Public Schools notes on its website.