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?

As a former middle and elementary school teacher and now as an education lawyer who has worked with school boards and school district administrators across the State, I am constantly called on by members of the community to provide assistance when they have concerns about their children in District 97.  It was these repeated experiences that led me to seek office to change the system from within to make sure that all students receive a high quality, equitable education. As a District 97 parent, I care deeply about all students and know that they deserve the best we can offer.

I will bring a much-needed perspective on how to get the job done effectively.  I understand the ins and outs of running a school district and have a firm understanding of how to analyze and make tough decisions in the best interest of students.  Having participated in an equity design team as part of a collaboration with the National Equity Project, I also bring the skills to continue the discussion on equity and ensure that it is carried out at the school level, where the biggest impact can be made.

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?

District 97 has many opportunities moving forward, including guiding the District out of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on student outcomes, and leveraging resources.  These issues also present opportunities for the District to develop plans to meet the needs of our diverse students with an equity focused lens.  

Specifically, the District will need to think creatively, rely on science, and plan effectively to return to school in the fall while providing alternative options for students who may not be able to return.  The District must continue to focus on the challenges presented by the opportunity gap, including learning loss during the pandemic, and create specific plans to address the needs of student groups who are not meeting growth targets.  Finally, the District must continue to carefully review its resources to determine how to provide an excellent education for our students while also addressing the burden District 97 spending has on the taxpayers in this community. The Board must work collaboratively to provide the Superintendent with the tools to address these issues, and the Board must have accountability measures in place to make sure District 97 is making progress on these opportunities.

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? 

As an education attorney, I have worked with school boards and administrators for the last 10 years and am trained to advise on legal risks and zealously defend whatever decision the school board or administrator makes. I will bring this approach to my work as a Board member. I may not always agree with every decision that is made, but I will work tirelessly to make sure that the end result is one that is in the best interest of students.  The Board must continually balance the competing interests of various stakeholders to make informed decisions that are student focused, and I will continue to do this as a Board member.

I am a collaborative leader. I believe it is critical to invite fellow Board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and even students, in some cases, to dialogue about the decisions that must be made. My focus will remain squarely on students and the tough decisions we must make to ensure every student gets what they need.  This cannot be based on my view alone; it must be based on the collective thoughts of all stakeholders. 

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?

As an education lawyer and as counsel to school districts, I regularly have to balance the desires of various stakeholders to ensure that the district’s budget is appropriate to meet the needs of the district but most importantly to meet the needs of students.  I am a strong proponent of keeping budgeting focused students and their needs and allocating spending with equity in mind. This means that we 1) keep our spending as close to students and classrooms as possible, 2) critically question every large expenditure, and 3) make decisions about what to purchase based on the impact the purchase will have on student outcomes.  

In terms of the budget process, the Board must set spending priorities for the administration to carry out, have a financial expert at the table who can speak to the impact of District 97 spending on our community’s taxpayers, assist in creatively planning for future expenditures to prevent our tax base from being overburdened, and simply be responsible stewards of the funds District 97 receives from taxpayers.

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?

As I noted previously, spending must be focused on students and classrooms to ensure that District 97 is providing students with an excellent and equitable education.  I also believe that we are a District with significant resources, and as Board members, we have to be good stewards of those resources.  I will work with other Board members, the administration, and various other local taxing bodies to find creative ways to address the District’s future spending needs without overburdening our tax payers.  This is an issue of equity. If we want students of all backgrounds to have access to District 97, we cannot tax our families out of the District or continually cause rents to rise by increasing taxes on our landlords.  As a Board member, I will work to find other ways to sustain the District and ensure it remains on solid financial footing while maintaining and excellent and equitable education for our students.  I firmly believe that the Board should publish its budgets, engage with experts about the impact of the budget on taxpayers, publish a clear statement of the budget impact on taxpayers, and collaborate with other taxing bodies to lessen the burden on taxpayers.

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?

Throughout the last 10 years, my legal practice has focused on special education law. As the parent of a student with a disability, I understand special education issues from multiple perspectives.  What I know to be true is that parents of students with disabilities are deeply committed to their students.  However, they are not always seeing the progress they would expect.  While this is a significant challenge for parents, the root cause of many of the issues we see related to special education is communication. Maintaining open lines of communication, regularly communicating about student progress, and being willing to discuss alternate approaches are some of the ways the District can address the ongoing needs of our families of students with disabilities.  As a Board member, I will carefully review budgets for our special education department to ensure we are spending funds in a way that will best serve our students.  I will also support a needs assessment of special education trainings for our staff to address any areas of weakness and provide additional support in those areas so teachers are prepared to support the needs of their students and maintain open lines of communication with families.  

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

There is often uncertainty around what equity means.  Because of that, I believe it is important to operationalize a definition of equity to ensure that all stakeholders know what is meant when the term is used.  District 97 undertook this work when it passed its equity policy in 2019.  That policy defined equity as “a system of fairness in both opportunities and outcomes. Equitable systems provide access, opportunities, and resources required for students to learn at high levels. Whereas equality tends to center on similarity of input, equity centers on how those inputs impact outcomes. With a focus on how our inputs are increasing opportunities for all students to achieve at high levels, with particular and prioritized attention to meeting the needs of those most disenfranchised.” To make decisions for District 97, we must operate from this definition of equity. It is my job to continue to listen to stakeholders across the community to see how issues of equity are impacting them and make decisions and enact policy that is equity focused and meets the needs of our students.  

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?

In my work as an education lawyer, I have worked with and for school districts that are very diverse and others that are not so diverse, both racially and ethnically, but also diverse in viewpoints and ideas.  Ultimately, I have seen that community stakeholders across the board want what is best for their students.  While this diversity of ideas and backgrounds can be polarizing in a nation that has become very divided, as a Board member, I have a duty to become educated about the differing concerns of people of different backgrounds within the community and how those backgrounds impact their experience in District 97.  Thus, I will bring a listening ear to situations throughout the community both at and away from the Board room.  I will actively participate in Board meetings where community members provide feedback, listen to community members whether at a school event or at a local playground, and timely respond to their emails and other requests for information and discussion.  Despite the polarization we are experiencing right now, I believe it is imperative to listen to and appreciate varying viewpoints, so that we can come together as a community to address the needs of our students.

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?

As noted on my website (www.jeremyforoakpark.com), I believe the District needs strategic plan focused on the opportunity gap.  This must include 1) identifying root causes of the opportunity gap, including a review of the existing data; 2) creating measurable goals to address identified gaps; and 3) providing oversight and accountability with an equity focus for continual attainment of these goals. 

As a Board member I will use my background reviewing data to assess progress, vote to reallocate resources to address the opportunity gap, and ask tough questions to help the District work strategically to address identified gaps.  I will also listen to the experiences of students and families who are impacted by the opportunity gap and listen to teachers who are working daily to address these gaps.  Teachers are experts in their field and are our most valuable resource in developing ways to close the opportunity gap. 

Beyond this, we must commit to providing appropriate training to staff related to identity and how their identity impacts their interactions with students.  This includes training on implicit bias and the dangers of believing that we, as members of this community, experience it in the same way. 

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?

In 2019, the Board of Education passed a 3-year action plan to address student behavior and culture.  While these measures will help address the issues faced by our students, the District will need to continue to gather data to assess the effectiveness of this plan.  I understand that the District also added additional mental health support in schools, which is an important step in addressing these issues.  Moving forward, the District must continue to assess the effectiveness of its programs and publicly share that data with stakeholders.  The District must also continue to assess the effectiveness of its interventions to ensure that they are working towards the goals the District has set.  For example, the District’s 2017-2022 Plan for Accelerated Growth & Success for All Students states that District 97 will assess its progress towards ensuring that students are empowered and passionate scholars by reviewing the number of student discipline referrals and the number of in-school and out-of-school suspensions.  I believe that if we are publishing specific goals, we should also be publishing along with it the measurements of progress for all stakeholders to see how things are progressing.

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?

I fully support this type of intergovernmental cooperation. I am a strong supporter of the Collaborative for Early Childhood. As a parent of a child who receives services through the District’s early childhood programming, I am aware of the value that this partnership provides to District 97.  As a former teacher and as a parent and education attorney, I also know the importance of early childhood education.  This is a critical example of intergovernmental cooperation that provides District 97 and its families with immeasurable benefits for many years to come.  Because of that, I believe it is imperative that District 97 explore other examples of intergovernmental collaboration.  As I noted previously, working collaboratively with other local taxing bodies is another example of intergovernmental cooperation that would help District 97, as well as the other local taxing bodies, find ways to maintain excellent programming throughout the community while also lessening the burden on local taxpayers. 

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.

District 97 is a critical part of the cradle-to-career framework.  District 97 must prepare students who espouse skills and characteristics to ensure they can be successful educationally, socially, emotionally, and in whatever career they choose.  District 97 is instrumental in setting the foundation for these opportunities and must keep this goal in mind at every step so that students are setup for success by receiving a high-quality education provided by highly qualified staff.  This will allow District 97 students to gain the skills necessary to be successful learners who are able to succeed in school and beyond.  In order to do this, the District must also critically assess its equity framework to remove barriers and continually provide fair access to resources and opportunities for all District 97 students.  This must also include working with community partners to provide resources and supports to students, and remove barriers to access inside and outside of school.

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?

I believe that remote learning will persist long after the pandemic, and e-learning, which is similar but with different statutory requirements, has been part of Illinois law since 2018.  I believe teachers (and students) will be expected to be able to adapt quickly to changes and provide access to education through remote methods for a long time to come.  A good example of this was the “snow day” on February 16, 2021, which became a remote learning day and caused no disruption to students’ learning.  Moving forward, we may no longer need snow days if our teachers and students have access to the technology necessary to provide and receive appropriate instruction no matter where the teacher and student are located.

I also hope that District 97 is able to take the many lessons learned from developing the hybrid learning plan, including the assembly and involvement of various stakeholders, to create a plan in the midst of an unprecedented time and ever-changing landscape.  This is no easy task, and because of that, reflecting on the lessons learned will help prepare plans in the future faster and that thoughtfully reflect the input of various stakeholders.

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?

I believe ensuring a positive climate within the District’s schools for all populations is of paramount importance to the Board.  The District’s 2017-2022 Plan for Accelerated Growth & Success for All Students has goals related to school climate, and progress towards these goals should be tracked and regularly shared with the Board and community. The Superintendent should also have goals for ensuring a positive climate as part of their performance goals each year.  The Superintendent’s progress towards these goals should be measured regularly based on 1) feedback from students, parents, staff, and administrators, 2) regular climate surveys, and 3) other objective, measurable data.  The Superintendent should be held accountable for continual improvement in this area.  

I also firmly believe that full implementation of the District’s equity policy will help ensure that District 97 is providing a welcoming climate for individuals of diverse backgrounds.  The Board should also consider reviewing and revising a host of policies to address climate related issues for all stakeholders that impact whether a school is a welcoming and affirming place for individuals of all backgrounds.  This includes the policies on equal educational opportunities, bullying, harassment, discrimination, school violence, student behavior, and filing complaints, among others.

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