Question 4

Kathleen Weiss Boyle -

STRENGTH: District 219 has the resources and ability to support our students, teachers, and faculty in reaching their full potential, and has historically been perceived as raising the bar of excellence. WEAKNESS: District 219 has failed to recognize, represent, and adapt to our district’s changing demographics – and by “demographics”, I mean real people with real needs that are not being addressed or met to ensure that everyone will have the supports needed to achieve their full potential.

Elana Jacobs -

There are so many strengths of District 219, that I as an educator and community member am envious of. Parking lots are always full with morning and evening community events. There are award winning STEM, Art and CTE programs. The Bridges Program and special education partnerships are absolutely incredible. The amount of clubs that students have to offer. Incredible infrastructure of actual school buildings that continue to be maintained. The partnerships with community organizations and all of the k-8 school district. The community support and the amazing caliber alumni that district 219 can continually brag about.This is just a tiny list and as a board member I want to find out more strengths. District 219 is an anchor to the community that impacts real estate values and invites more vibrant families to move to Niles Township.

Some weaknesses of District 219 are transparency of meetings and easy access board meetings and budgeting. These are sometimes longer fixes to change the mindset of stakeholders. And there are simple solutions such as posting live link, posting meeting agenda weeks in advance, translating recorded meetings and having English subtitles. Also, training parent and student groups about expectations to post links and how to involve more community members. Just keep repeating that we are an incredible school district and we could continue to improve by remembering that we can take bold moves to continue to be a leader in bilingual education and meeting the linguistic and cultural needs of our incredibly diverse district 219 community.

Ross Sawyers -

District 219 benefits from a strong sense of community support and incredible resources for students such as highly paid teachers, modern facilities and access to broad programming. District 219 faces the challenges similar to other districts across the country who are grappling with an education system under stress from a public unsure of what they want from public education.

Naema Abraham -

My siblings and I, and our children, received a Grade A education at D219 where we were supported by its highly qualified teachers and administrators. Our strength is that we have the resources to hire high-quality teachers and administrators. Our weakness is our inability to engage our community members. With the resources we have, we should be able to engage our community members at greater numbers.

Irena Petryk -

The largest strength of District 219 is our community. Our schools are home to students, teachers, and administrators from a variety of racial, cultural, and religious backgrounds. This allows for a great diversity of perspectives, which in turn fosters innovation and problem-solving across all levels of education.

The financial management of District 219 is a definite strength. The current board has done an excellent job of avoiding deficit spending and managing the debt service during the budgeting process, making smart, deliberate decisions that have saved the taxpayers of our district thousands of dollars.

A weakness of District 219 is communication between the board and parents. I have spoken to many parents who feel as if they are uninformed about the decisions that are being made at the highest level of district leadership; others find it difficult to access agendas, minutes, or meetings with the way they are currently structured.

Another weakness of District 219 is a lack of student, teacher, and parent voice. Due to the board’s policy of not responding to public comment, community members who write in do not feel that they are being heard, nor do they feel as if the issues they highlight are being addressed. Within our schools, input from students and teachers is being overlooked. The Niles West School Culture and Climate Team, for example, is filled entirely with administrators. It seems counterintuitive to exclude the two groups that have the largest influence on the school’s culture and climate from this group.

Joseph Nowik -

An obvious strength of our district is the economic stability and vitality of our community. We have been blessed to have the resources that make all the programs we offer possible. But, the board needs to make sure that these resources are used properly and efficiently.

Another strength is the strong connections the district has forged with Oakton Community College, and other universities and businesses within the community. These pathways have served our students well whether they go on to higher education or directly into the workforce.

We have an engaged community - a strength, but the board must make sure that we listen to all voices and not just the loudest.

One weakness is the rate of change in the district. Many get frustrated at this perceived slow response, but like a huge ocean liner, the district does not turn on a dime. The board must review issues thoroughly. Listening to all sides. Once a decision is made, we must make sure there are metrics in place that measure the performance of the decision for possible future changes and corrections.

Richard Evonitz -

This community is blessed with two exceptional high schools. That’s primarily due to the very effective instructional staff and extraordinary students. Add to that strong administrative leadership that strives to leverage the financial investments made by taxpayers into meaningful, equitable educational programs and curricula for staff to execute for the benefit of all our students. It is no wonder why Niles North and Niles West are considered among the best high schools in the United States.

As for weaknesses, I think that, in recent years, our community has experienced frustration at the Board of Education over matters related to its overall governance. To resolve that, experience matters. We must do a better job at governance so that the community trusts and values members of the Board of Education, and board experience will be valuable in rebuilding that trust.