A Highland Park High School foreign-language teacher already facing a domestic battery charge tied to an off-duty incident at her Wauconda home also carried a recent paper trail of classroom discipline problems, including two formal warnings from her school district over conduct that colleagues and administrators described as unprofessional and overly harsh toward students. Bridget Fahrner, who has worked for Township High School District 113 for at least 11 years, was placed on administrative leave following her August 9 arrest, and her misdemeanor case is now set for trial in November.
Two Notices to Remedy in Two Years
According to The Record North Shore, the District 113 Board of Education unanimously approved a first notice to remedy against Fahrner in February 2024, following a disciplinary findings letter sent to her by Tom Krieger on February 9 of that year. That notice stemmed from a January 26, 2024 incident at Highland Park High School in which Fahrner allegedly recorded a seven- to eight-second cellphone video of students near an all-gender locker room and intentionally ran into a student near a concession stand. The notice barred her from filming students with her phone and from making physical contact with them for purposes of discipline or intimidation, warning that noncompliance could lead to suspension without pay or dismissal.
A second notice to remedy followed in October 2025, approved unanimously by the board on October 28. That warning required Fahrner to promote a respectful classroom environment, attend two professional development sessions, and refrain from physical contact with students. The outlet's report describes additional allegations behind that notice, including that Fahrner slammed a computer down, removed a pencil from a student's hand, announced that a student had received a zero, and kept a student outside the classroom for an extended period. In September 2025, she reportedly showed the film Machuca, which depicts nudity, kissing, underage drinking, gun violence and drug use, to her eighth-period Spanish IV class.
Colleague Describes Fluctuating Conduct
Kathryn Anderson, who investigated Fahrner's classroom conduct in October 2025, described her approach to student behavior as fluctuating between nurturing and aggressive, according to the same report. The outlet also notes that Fahrner displayed a level of intimacy with students that made some feel uncomfortable. District spokesperson Karen Warner said the district will not comment on personnel matters.
The August Arrest in Wauconda
The Wauconda Police Department arrested Fahrner on August 9 for allegedly striking and strangling a juvenile, according to police. A separate Record North Shore report on the arrest states that officers responded around 3:45 p.m. to Fahrner's home in the 200 block of Oak Bluff Court after a report that she had placed her hands around a minor's neck. A Lake County prosecutor's spokesperson said the juvenile victim alleged Fahrner hit him with a paintbrush, grabbed his neck, and held him under a faucet.
Lake County Circuit Court records show Fahrner was charged with two Class A misdemeanor counts of domestic battery involving bodily harm and physical contact. She was released on pre-trial conditions ordering no contact with three individuals and with her Wauconda residence, after prosecutors' petition for detention was denied by a judge on August 11. Under Illinois law, a Class A misdemeanor is the state's most severe misdemeanor classification, carrying up to 364 days in county jail and fines of up to $2,500 per count.
In a message to the school community on August 11, one day before the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, District 113 Superintendent Dr. Chala Holland said Fahrner was immediately placed on administrative leave per standard procedure. Holland directed anyone with additional safety information to contact District Security Director Lane Linder, and advised students needing emotional support to reach out to Counseling Department Chair Jen Ginopolis.
A Pattern of Police Contact Predating the Arrest
Wauconda police records show officers had responded to Fahrner's home before the August arrest: twice in November 2024 for minor behavior calls made by Fahrner herself, and once in January 2025 for a domestic violence allegation made against her, in which officers observed no visible injuries and Fahrner denied the claim. Police notified the Department of Children and Family Services after each of those incidents, according to the outlet's reporting.
Those earlier referrals never reached District 113, and the reason lies in state law. Under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, child welfare investigations remain confidential, and DCFS is not required to notify a school district when an employee is under investigation for an off-duty incident involving a minor unless specific statutory criteria are met. Lindsay Record said DCFS does not automatically notify an employer when it opens a confidential investigation, which explains why the district's disciplinary notices to remedy in 2024 and 2025 addressed only in-school classroom conduct, while the more serious off-duty allegations remained outside the district's view until the August arrest triggered her leave.
A Once-Recognized Educator
Fahrner's standing within the district was not always in question. She was named one of three semi-finalists for the Highland Park Community Foundation's Golden Apple Award in May 2017, served as District 113's Equity Coordinator in 2018, and was faculty sponsor for Highland Park High School's Spectrum GSA club. Lake County property records show she purchased her Oak Bluff Court condominium in Wauconda for $357,000 in July 2023, shortly after selling a previous Wauconda residence on Farmhill Circle for $355,000 that same year.
District 113 serves roughly 3,000 students across Highland Park High School, which enrolls about 1,700 students, and Deerfield High School, covering six North Shore communities including Highland Park, Deerfield, Highwood, Bannockburn, Riverwoods, and Fort Sheridan. Fahrner's domestic battery case remains pending, with trial scheduled for November.
