Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to the District, and why would those contributions be valuable in the role of School Board member?

Candidate Video response

Earning the opportunity to serve as a member of the Oak Park D97 School Board would be a tremendous honor. I have been an educator for more than twenty years, including teaching in classrooms, collaborating on school- and district-wide initiatives, and engaging on education issues in the community. Education has been my life’s work; community service is my strong passion. 

I want to be intentional about bringing my education and community experiences to the School Board. As a National Board Certified Teacher, I have a depth of knowledge about effective teaching and learning practices that can be valuable in advising and supporting the District as it makes decisions. Beyond the classroom, I have served on district-wide committees around hiring, curriculum, technology, standards-based grading and more. In the community, I have served on Village Board and D97 School Board committees that give me community perspectives on important issues in Oak Park, like equity and inclusion.

I believe D97 Board members have a great responsibility to bring out the best in all of us. I believe I bring the right mix of deep experience in education, an attitude of collaboration, and a commitment to community engagement to help the Board do so.

2. What are the three biggest challenges or opportunities you expect District 97 to face in the coming years, and how would you work with your colleagues to address these challenges or realize these opportunities?

Few would have predicted the effects of a global pandemic on schools, so the biggest challenges D97 will face in coming years may evolve. In the very near term, navigating our schools back to full in-person learning as quickly as health and safety will allow. We know that perspectives in our community about this are not uniform. We must continue to listen to all voices and strike the best balance we can.

Our most vital challenge, both immediate and long term, is effectively and meaningfully implementing the District’s equity policy, as well as rigorously evaluating its effectiveness. We must work relentlessly to accomplish the “mission of creating a positive learning environment for all students that is equitable, inclusive and focused on the whole child.”

Perhaps the single most consequential responsibility of the Board is hiring a superintendent. I see this as an opportunity. My goal would be to hire a leader with great passion for and dedication to students and to equity, a commitment to building relationships within the community, and exemplary communications skills. The hiring process will allow the Board to tackle the challenge of building greater trust between the school district and the community through increased community engagement and collaboration.

3. How will you balance competing interests, such as your own deeply-held values and opinions, input from District staff and fellow board members, and diverse views from the community? How would you describe your leadership style and your decision-making process generally? 

I am not coming to the role of School Board member with a deep-seated agenda. Instead I would serve with an open-mind, wanting to learn and examine the many sides of each issue before helping the Board make well thought out decisions based on data, research, community input and knowledge of best practices in education. 

I am the type of person who will change her mind on an issue based on learning the facts of the situation. I am also the type of person who will readily admit when she doesn’t know something and will do my homework and learn as I go. I am fully aware that in an arena as complicated as a school district, it is impossible to please all constituents all the time. Yet I will work hard to be sure all voices are heard and taken into consideration before making key decisions. At the same time, as a Board member, I know much of the decision making is in the hands of the experts who serve as leaders in the administration. 

4. What values would you bring to the budgeting process? What changes do you favor in the process by which the District conducts its budgeting and fiscal planning?

The values I bring to the budgeting process stem from my experience in the classroom and my understanding of how schools work. Specifically, I will look at financial decisions with equity, student voice and the impact on teaching and learning top of mind. Whether new monies need to be brought in or existing monies need to be cut, we should always ask: does what we are doing from a budget standpoint work to improve the learning experience for all our students? 

Meanwhile, I know each Board member brings her or his own background and viewpoints, informed by their personal and professional experiences. Some will have more experience in budgeting processes and finance matters. Others will have more knowledge about how budgets affect teaching and learning and the capacity of schools to create supportive learning environments. Both will be needed to inform necessary changes. In the spirit of effective collaboration, I will listen to a variety of perspectives from fellow Board members, and be upfront and clear about my own.

5. How will you balance the community's desire to decrease the property tax burden with the need to maintain the quality of our schools, create an equitable learning environment for all students, and address facilities issues?

I know that many Oak Parkers worry about our taxes and express concern about the District's budget. A high tax burden comes with high expectations for our schools. We are also a community that values equity. High expectations and real equity require significant investment from members of the community. Yet, high taxes can also do our community the disservice of making Oak Park a less affordable place to live.   

Part of striking the right balance is first helping the community to understand the nuances of the District's funding streams and financial decisions and how those impact classrooms and schools. I believe that part of the district’s overall efforts to engage with the community includes being transparent about resources and how they are being used in ways that benefit our students.  

Another element of striking the right balance is encouraging everyone in our community to recognize and appreciate the good intentions we all have, regardless of perspective. We will never avoid disagreements about tax rates or levels of investments. But, as Board members we can encourage everyone to participate openly, collaboratively and respectfully, and model that type of dialogue ourselves. 

6. Special education is mandated by federal law. How will you set up structures to ensure ongoing concerns of families engaged with special education are addressed? What do you believe are the biggest issues facing families and children with special needs, and how will you work to see their needs are met?

I have first-hand experience with the special education process, as a parent and a teacher. My son has an IEP for reading and has benefited from extra support since his elementary days. At my school, I routinely collaborate with colleagues around special education supports for students with IEPs. And I co-founded my school’s chapter of Best Buddies, which offers opportunities for students with disabilities to build friendships with peers. 

In my experience, the most valuable structure for families to engage with the special education system is through the team of educators directly teaching and supporting their children. Teachers, counselors, administrators, social workers, etc, collaborate to design the best learning experience, goals, and set of services for each child. This team of caring adults is committed to providing each student their best learning experience. 

D97 is doing great work using this structure. When I talk with families of students with special needs, I hear mostly stories of positive experiences. The district works to continuously improve its approaches, such as the recent shift to co-teaching, which has benefited my own child. As a Board member I will listen to families and help the administration continue to evolve to provide even better services to students with IEPs.

7. How do you define equity? Have recent discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

When I think about equity I picture the image of three people trying to watch a baseball game, each has what he needs to successfully view the game over a tall fence. Equity is every child having all they need to be successful in this world regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, sexual preference, and other identities and circumstances. 

Yet, achieving equity is extraordinarily complex. As individuals, it means understanding white privilege and working to eliminate the microaggressions and inherent biases that are a constant affront to people of color. As a society, it means understanding white supremacy and eliminating the deep-rooted systemic racism that taints every institution in our country. 

As a white woman of privilege, I have been working to boost my racial IQ. I’m still learning about equity and my place in it. I’ve been listening to people steeped in equity work, locally and nationally. One example is the National Equity Project. Their Leading for Equity Framework helps me think about how leaders can do the work of equity, to ultimately change systems that were designed to leave certain people out. This is hard work. It’s also the duty of community leaders like School Board members.

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing Oak Park in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

Based on my conversations with current Board members and community members, strengthening the District’s community engagement would be one of my top priorities. While I know our community is united in wanting the best for our children, I also know there are wide-ranging viewpoints and needs across the Village. The District must recognize, respect and engage all voices--hearing those who are already vocal, reaching out to those who haven’t been empowered to speak up. 

I would start by learning more about the District’s recent community engagement work-- focus groups around the equity policy, parent surveys surrounding the hybrid model, and the ThoughtExchange tool. I would then focus on proactive outreach to under-represented families, and create welcoming avenues for engagement. For example, as part of Lincoln’s Diversity Committee, I co-created a “buddy” program, connecting new and veteran families. We know that parents who are “connected” have informal access to valuable information from peers to navigate the system and advocate for their children, whereas those who have traditionally been disconnected miss out on those advantages and have less opportunity to contribute their voice. 

9. How should the District assess its policies and progress with respect to the opportunity gap? As a Board Member, how will you determine whether the District is succeeding?

The short answer is: data. As a Board member I would advocate for increasing the resources dedicated to collecting, analyzing, reporting and using data to more thoroughly assess the District’s efforts to close the opportunity gap. 

In my experience as an educator, I find it most valuable to have “hard” and “soft” data that I can put together to make sense of a situation and take action. “Hard” quantitative data is helpful in understanding what is happening. We can measure things like attendance, grades and standardized test scores to paint that picture. Meanwhile, “soft” qualitative data helps us understand why it is happening. Why are students showing up to school or not? Why are they engaged in their coursework or not? How are students experiencing school? Hearing their voices and their narratives, and that of their families and educators, provides the nuance needed to then know how to change--what policies do we need or what investments do we make in order to move toward closing the opportunity gap?

10. District 97 has taken some steps to move away from policing and surveillance in schools toward restorative justice, mental health supports, and other services in schools. Do you feel these moves have been successful? Why or why not? What work do you believe remains to be done in this area?

I don’t have access to the data that would help evaluate these changes, yet based on my experiences as a teacher, I am confident these shifts are in the best interests of our students. Zero-tolerance policies disproportionately impact students of color. Meanwhile, restorative practices represent an equity-centered approach compared to traditional, punitive measures because they focus on the development of the child. 

In my relationships with my students, restorative conversations have been an enormously effective approach. Students have the opportunity to learn from the experience, to see how their choices and behavior affected others. This helps them build empathy and think through the consequences of their actions, and do the work of repairing the harm they caused to the school or classroom community.

Implementing restorative practices effectively requires tremendous community building and establishing trust. It takes the full commitment of the school community. Everyone needs to be bought in, teachers, administrators and staff. If students receive mixed messages--punishments from one adult versus a restorative conversation from another for the same behavior--the system falls apart. This is not easy. Educators need clear guidance, training and support to ensure this level of consistency. But it is doable and is worth the investment and effort.

11. District 97 Board members share responsibility for oversight of the Collaboration for Early Childhood. Do you support this example of intergovernmental cooperation? Are there other types of intergovernmental cooperation that you would support?

Intergovernmental cooperation is vital. iGov’s work to foster conversations among the Village’s six government taxing bodies is a strong example of how agencies can work together toward common goals, sharing ideas and combining resources toward such collaborations.

From an education perspective, young people learn and develop both inside and outside of school, in a variety of different contexts. The school system is not enough to support students in all facets of their learning, all stages of their development, all parts of their days. Partnerships are essential to fully support the whole child. 

Beginning with the health department, guiding the District in regard to students’ wellbeing and safety. Our libraries and Park District, enriching students’ lives beyond the school day. Economic development and housing agencies, the food pantry and health services providing for the basic needs of students and their families. D97 students depend on this type of intergovernmental cooperation to support their ability to learn and provide them with a full educational experience.

12. Educational and business leaders have begun to use a "cradle-to-career" framework when talking about education. Please discuss the role of District 97 within the “cradle-to-career” framework.

As an educator, I think about the concept of cradle-to-career from the standpoint of important inflection points. A school system like D97 must be focused on helping children meet the most critical educational milestones within its purview. Understanding these inflections points and corresponding milestones enables Board members to keep the District focused on what matters to ensure students are on a successful cradle-to-career trajectory.

This means first making sure children enter D97 “kindergarten ready,” which involves partnerships with early childhood offerings in the Village. It then means heavily investing in early literacy so that students are reading on grade level by third grade, which research shows is critical for long-term educational attainment. I teach sixth grade, which is the beginning of middle school and is a crucial transition point involving huge developmental milestones around agency, self-efficacy, and social and emotional development. The transition into high school is the last big inflection point for D97, making sure students are ready for the rigors of advanced content and have developed the broader skills necessary to take ownership over their education. Ultimately, this will help D200 pass students off to college or career and set them up for their best-matched postsecondary experience.

13. What lessons learned from the implementation of remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic do you believe will be applicable going forward, even after the pandemic abates?

Since we are still in the middle of our hybrid learning experiment and the public health crisis has not yet fully abated, we should be humble about what this experience may tell us. There will be many take-aways with deep reflection still to come. Nevertheless, I think we can note a few lessons that will inform our education plans going forward. 

In times of profound uncertainty, we’ve learned there is a premium on being responsive and adaptive. Schools are systems. We’ve had to remake them to be more flexible--like the middle schools moving to project-based learning, which can be a benefit in “normal” times. 

We’ve learned students are remarkably adaptable and resilient. These are valuable assets to recognize and appreciate in our youth. Students will leverage those assets to overcome gaps in their academic learning caused by the pandemic. 

And we have learned, or at least been reminded, that relationships and genuine engagement are at the heart of teaching and learning. One of the most challenging aspects of remote learning for teachers has been connecting with students and keeping them engaged with content and with their peers. Those connections, those relationships need to come first. Academic achievement will follow.

14. Do you see a role for the Board in ensuring that the climate at District 97 schools is welcoming to students in minority populations, whether racial, religious identity, LGBTQ, etc.? What specific actions or policies would you propose?

Every single student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. The Board must take responsibility for ensuring this. The Board should support, and push where necessary, the administration to continue building a climate and culture welcoming for all. Board members can prioritize space regularly in meeting agendas to inquire about and discuss the District’s work on anti-racism and inclusion, and to celebrate good practices, like Rainbow Tribe and social justice clubs at Brooks and Julian, among others.  

Board members must work to build their own racial literacy, individually and as a group. My journey, which is still in its early stages, has included reading about and engaging in conversations on the subjects of race, white privilege, and equity, participating in a Race Conscious Dialogues cohort, and starting a spoken word club at my school to amplify the voices of students from marginalized communities. As new members join the Board in the coming months, the group dynamics will naturally change, lending opportunity for members to collaborate toward greater racial consciousness and inclusion as a group, in part to support Board members’ actions and decisions and also to model this behavior, reinforcing the importance of a welcoming culture for the District.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/19/21.]