Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

I am a CPA with a bachelors degree in Finance and a Masters degree in data science and have spent my entire career working with companies to evaluate and improve their internal controls and governance. I am running for District 91 school board to serve my community by offering my experience and skills to the district in the service of the education of our children and the proper oversight of the communities resources with which the district is entrusted. 

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests? What process did you use? What did you learn?

As an internal auditor, I have to balance the requirements of the business, the principles of good governance, and the time and resource constraints in the audit plan I am executing. Resolving the tension between these requires an agreement among the stakeholders regarding what we are trying to accomplish, what evidences success or failure, and what if any remediations are required. If all stakeholders understand the process and can see evidence that it is working properly, the process generally runs smoothly. The most critical element of this process is the active engagement of the stakeholders in the process, including a willingness to learn about things they may have limited to experience with beforehand, and to understand how different priorities need to be balanced. The second most critical element of this process is identifying the correct feedback and reporting mechanisms so progress toward goals can be measured and changes made as needed to course-correct. 

3. What does transparency in government mean to you? How would you put it into practice?

Effective transparency in government has two components. First, it is the measure of how easy it is for an ordinary citizen to identify resources that allow them to understand how the governmental body in question functions, from the pure mechanics of the processes to 'why does it work like this?'. Second, it is the measure by which a citizen can question a governmental process and receive timely, accurate, relevant, and (if needs be) actionable responses. This is a function primarily of communication and feedback. The district has a full time communications director whose job it is to facilitate these processes. I will work with the board and superintendent to ensure that the appropriate policies and procedures to ensure effective communication were in place and that the communications director has the right resources and guidance to follow those policies and procedures, and that feedback mechanisms exist so we can make adjustments as needed. 

4. As more of our local discourse happens in social media, what is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents? How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

District 91 board members routinely attend school functions throughout the district, as well as community events, which I already participate in and will continue to do so. They also have an engagement committee, which I would be willing to serve on at the will of the board and its president. I think the board should continue to broaden its engagement with the community to ensure that it reaches everyone, especially those who may be under-served or unreached, both on-line, via formal communications and through personal outreach. The district also needs to expend the effort to 'meet people where they are' as there are some people who for whatever reason cannot or will not attend such  events. If that means having a district social worker, communications specialist and board member go door to door to engage with the community, then so be it. 

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with District 91? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?

District 91 has excellent faculty and staff, whose work is often highlighted at board meetings. If you look on the district website, you will find such presentations listed in the minutes but with no details about the presentations, links to the material presented, nor coverage of the ensuing discussion. The district relies on coverage in local media, specifically the Forest Park Review, to inform the community. The district should communicate directly with the public to convey their work, perspectives and achievements by issuing formal press releases that communicate not just what we are doing but why and by posting all supplemental materials presented at board meetings to the district web page along with the relevant minutes at the bare minimum. Not everyone can physically attend board meetings, and such people are completely left out of the communication process except to the degree that local media cover such proceedings. Additionally, the district knows a great deal about the students and their families. We need to use what we know to find out the best way to engage. The has an engagement committee that does just that, and I would be honored to serve on that committee if the board chose to appoint me to it. See also my response above about engagement with those not on social media.

6. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing District 91, and how do you intend to address them?

Aside from the issues I raised above, communication about how student performance is measured is discussed at board meetings but left up to teachers to communicate specifically to parents. For example, the Districts 'Teaching and Learning' page is a single page concerned mostly with standardized test scores. A parent would have had to attend the November, 2019 board meeting in person to hear details about the grading system used, why it works, how to interpret the grades, etc. All such materials need to be posted where people can find them, with enough supplemental context so they can understand the material as well.

By consistency of support for student learning, I mean simply that the district needs to review areas where student performance is lacking, identify the root cause (which they do) and take specific actions designed to remediate the problem and report on those specific actions to the board and the public. It is not a governance function to micromanage the superintendent and his or her team, but where there are issues identified but no solutions implemented, it is appropriate to question the process and, if necessary, motivate action. 

By district office governance, I am specifically referring to the internal controls in place at the district headquarters around basic financial processes. There have been recent instances that call into question how effective those controls are. I plan to use my background in internal audit to identify governance issues and work with the board, superintendent and administration to design and implement appropriate governance where needed.

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

Equity in the context of education is both the existence of a functioning public school with the resources required to educate our children and supporting activities in place to ensure every family can effectively participate in and benefit from the school programs. Families who suffer food uncertainty, or who may be homeless or have some other challenge that impacts the students ability to engage and learn need additional support. When they receive the support needed for their child to effectively engage and learn, I would characterize that as 'equitable' access to education, because only at that point are they truly equally able to obtain the public education that is theirs by right at the same level of quality and efficacy as their peers. A child has the right to an equitable education, period. Recent events have placed a spotlight on equity in America, but the inequity here is nothing new. I have done data analytical work around equity issues myself, and read extensively on the work of others. The data is very clear - education is critical to a child's ability to thrive in society, and in America in general, we do a horrifically inconsistent job of providing that education. District 91, however, does a good job in general, but part of providing an truly equitable education involves discovering exactly where we come up short, identifying the required remediations and executing on those remediations. My primary goal as board member is to enable our excellent teachers and staff to do exactly that - keep working to improve educational quality and equity.

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

I touched on this above, but to reiterate: work with the district to identify such people, then put together a plan to engage with those identified and execute that plan with rigor. This is fundamentally simple, but will take legwork and will to execute. I look forward to discussing this and related issues with the new superintendent to understand how she plans such engagement and how the board can support her initiatives. I know from my prior meetings with Dr. Cavallo, Ed Brophy and current board members that the district has individuals who are focused on finding and aiding those in our district who may have challenges engaging with the district, or may simply 'experience' the community differently. The district needs to find these families, engage meaningfully with them and listen to them to understand their needs and perspectives, then do whatever we can to include them in the community discussion and ensure their voices are heard and perspectives respected. We may not be able to accommodate everyone, but we can and should give everyone a fair hearing and consideration at the very least. 

9. Name an influential local community member. How did this person’s influence change Forest Park? As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

Connie Ostler-Brown, who owns the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor in Forest Park is one of the most influential community members I know. Her active participation in every aspect of the community and outspoken support for social justice are in my opinion representative of what an engaged, ethical community member and business leader should be. I cannot speak to what my influence will be, that is for others to decide. I hope my work for the community in general and District 91 in particular would result in more students having access to educational opportunities and the support they need to engage with those opportunities in a meaningful manner that measurably improves their lives professionally and personally. I do not expect that I single-handedly would accomplish this. By being an active team player on the board of education, I hope to help the district leadership, administration, faculty and community families accomplish that mission. If all I claim at the end of my tenure on the board is that the district as a whole made measurable improvement in the education and engagement of our kids, I would consider that the district as a whole had succeeded, and I would be proud of my participation in that success.

10. Educational and business leaders have begun to use a "cradle-to-career" framework when talking about education. Please discuss the role of District 91 within the “cradle-to-career” framework.

"Cradle to Career" relates to the point I made above under the 'equity' question regarding meaningful participation in education. It is not enough to have a school all kids can attend. Families and their children may require additional support to ensure the children can actually realize their fundamental right to a free public education. Without such support, some children will not be able to engage with their education, and those children will grow up without the education they have a right to. This is a waste of human potential and a humanitarian tragedy. District 91 has social workers and support staff to address exactly these sorts of situations. It is incumbent we continue to provide such resources and include feedback mechanisms so we can monitor how well all of our students and families engage with the educational process.

11. 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?

The pandemic disrupted our entire society, so limiting the discussion to just remote learning is a gross oversimplification, but in the interest of brevity, I think the pandemic demonstrated what we all knew already: children need social interaction to thrive; some families who have challenges in the home were even more challenged and those challenges impacted their children's' ability to engage in their education; teachers are flexible and brilliant and can do amazing things when given the proper resources and support; technology offers us great tools but if we do not educate all students, parents and teachers on the use of such tools, they will be more a hindrance than a help; teachers need all the support we as a community can offer them and their families, for the same reason we expect them to offer our children care and support and we expect our employers to be flexible with us during hard times - basic human decency and a common goal of a healthy, happy, educated, prosperous society.

12. 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?

It is not the place of a governance body of an individual to set up 'structures' for special education or any other aspect of education. It is the role of the board of education to enact policies and procedures and provide resources to ensure that the experts the district employs, under the leadership of the superintendent, design and implement such structures. As a general approach, I favor the current D91 policy of keeping special education students in the district wherever possible consistent with the needs of the students. I also believe that the programs in place should be actively facilitated and promoted by district faculty and staff. A parent should not have to fight apathy or bureaucracy for their child's education or access to resources they are entitled to. Teachers and administrators should actively look for opportunities to place students where they can best learn. Parents should have trust in those teachers and administrators and the supporting processes and if they do not, they should not hesitate to reach out to engage the Board of Education, because if public trust fails or we as a district fail a student, we have a governance issue to address, and I will not hesitate to address such issues as actively as necessary. My personal experience at D91 has been that faculty and staff already pro-actively work to ensure students have access to all the resources they need, and I will actively support them in those ongoing efforts.

13. One of the School Board’s primary responsibilities is oversight of the Superintendent. What criteria will use to evaluate the success of District 91’s new Superintendent?

The superintendent is the one direct report the board has, and as such, I would evaluate her based on her ability to communicate with the board effectively and efficiently, including detail as appropriate; her oversight of her subordinates as reflected in their performance of duties assigned, especially around matters where there is either a district initiative the board has directed the superintendent to perform or governance matters like internal control; her ability to balance competing priorities from teachers, administrators, families and students; her responsiveness to community concerns and willingness to communicate and engage effectively. This last point about engagement incorporates everything I wrote about engagement above. One of my personal priorities is engagement and equity, and I would expect the superintendent to be able to articulate her own views on those subjects in particular, and be willing to collaborate with the board on governance efforts with the specific purpose of broadening engagement and deepening communication.

14. School boards receive feedback from many different interests, including parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. How will you ensure that, as a District 91 School Board member, you are able to receive input and feedback from students themselves?

The board attends multiple school functions across the district, which I will participate in, all of which include interacting with and talking to the students. When I talk to my own children, both of whom are D91 students, I listen to what they have to say, and do my best to understand their priorities and feelings about whatever they are talking to me about. Empathy is a key to any human relationship, especially with children, whose personalities are still developing and for whom the world can be a confusing, frustrating, even frightening place at times. When I speak with students, I will listen carefully and empathetically to what they tell me, and also try to understand what they may be trying to tell me but lack the experience to articulate clearly. In addition, the district employs social workers and our teachers are trained to evaluate students not only academically, but for their personal well-being and development. Based on the teachers and social workers deep knowledge of the students, I would expect them to report to the superintendent on such matters, who would in turn speak to student concerns as part of her regular reporting cadence with the board. Students have an absolute right to have their concerns treated seriously, and participate in decisions related to their education, to the degree that they can.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/18/21.]