De Smet Jesuit High School is a Catholic college prep school for boys in Creve Coeur. The school began classes in the fall of 1967.
CLAYTON 鈥 A longtime English teacher at De Smet Jesuit High School who was fired last year is suing the school for breach of contract and age discrimination.
Robert Bergman, 50, graduated from De Smet in 1993 and started working there as an English teacher in 2000. He was awarded tenure five years later 鈥渂ased on his hard work and competence,鈥 according to the lawsuit filed Friday in 最新杏吧原创 County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit states that Bergman received positive evaluations each year until 2022, when the school鈥檚 principal of four years Kevin Poelker placed him on probation. Poelker graduated from De Smet in 1998.
Poelker鈥檚 review of Bergman 鈥渨as discriminatory and based on Plaintiff鈥檚 age, as the reasons cited by Mr. Poelker for Plaintiff鈥檚 negative review were unfounded and lacked merit,鈥 reads the lawsuit.
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Several other tenured faculty members older than 40 also received negative reviews from Poelker for the first time in their teaching careers, according to the suit.
Poelker did not respond Monday to a request for comment.
Bergman came off probation in spring 2023 but claims he still felt targeted by Poelker because of his age. The teacher filed a 鈥渉ostile work environment complaint,鈥 which was never resolved.
Bergman was fired in June, 鈥渨ithout prior notice or adequate reasons鈥 and the school did not follow the steps required to fire a tenured teacher outlined in Bergman鈥檚 contract or the faculty handbook, according to the suit.
According to his LinkedIn page, Bergman is now working as a part-time substitute teacher at MICDS. He is seeking a jury trial and more than $25,000 in damages.
In 2021 Bergman wrote an article for the De Smet magazine titled 鈥溾 about working for his alma mater. At the time, there were at least 10 De Smet graduates from the same or earlier graduating class than Bergman who were working at the school, according to the article. The school鈥檚 now shows four alumni on staff who are older than Bergman.
鈥淲e chose to return and give back with our effort and talent to ensure De Smet Jesuit remains the place that welcomed us and continues to welcome future generations,鈥 Bergman wrote in the magazine.
