Paraprofessional charged with misconduct for messages to juvenile prior to joining District 112

An employee of North Shore School District 112 was arrested Tuesday for allegedly sharing inappropriate messages with a juvenile prior to her time with the district.

Bayleigh Hoyt, 28, of Buffalo Grove, was apprehended without incident on Dec. 11 at Sherwood Elementary School in Highland Park, according to local officials. During the arrest, the school was put on a “hold,” meaning students and staff members were instructed to remain in their spaces and keep hallways clear, the district said.

According to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Hoyt is charged with official misconduct and distributing harmful material for allegedly, in 2022, sharing with a 17-year-old boy inappropriate text messages and nude digital photos of herself. She allegedly engaged in this conduct while the boy was in the custody of her employer, the Depke Juvenile Detention Facility in Lake County, where she was a juvenile counselor.

In emails to district families this week, district officials — Superintendent Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and Deputy Superintendent Monica Schroeder — said that the district hired Hoyt as a paraprofessional on Dec. 4 and she was assigned to Sherwood Elementary School. The email says that the district has no evidence that Hoyt engaged in any misconduct during her brief tenure with District 112.

According to a Dec. 11 email, the district’s background check on Hoyt revealed “no indications of an ongoing investigation” and she did not provide the district with any information regarding the county’s investigation.

Hoyt is on leave and is banned from district property, according to the email.

“We are deeply angered and we profoundly regret this situation,” the Dec. 11 message says, continuing, “We want to assure you that we are taking the necessary steps to uphold the standards and expectations of our district.”

The county is alleging that Hoyt also encouraged the boy to delete the messages and photos before she resigned from the juvenile facility.

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