Question 6b

Please cite any examples of issues related to this School Board that you believe are very important to this community, and what would you do as a Member of the Board related to these issues?

Irena Petryk -

As evident by the slew of recent public comments and gatherings outside the district administration office, equity is an issue that is extremely important to this community. If elected, I would attend all equity board meetings and complete equity training. I would aim to address the resource skew between general and honors classes, implement equitable grading practices, expand diversity in AP classes, and increase the level of college and career readiness by expanding programs like AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). Decisions about policy would be made through an equity lens. I would pay special attention to listening to and amplifying the voices of teachers that may be underrepresented within our district in order to increase the retention rate of BIPOC teachers.

Joseph Nowik -

Social, emotional, and educational learning of our students coming out of this Covid-19 pandemic is critical. We must make sure that we have the necessary resources allocated so that students returning to the “new” normal in-person learning flourish. Including those students that did well with remote learning. Incorporating that into the new paradigm of our future D219 education experience.

Courageous conversations on Equity must continue. Equity is a process that requires both individual and institutional reflection, understanding and growth. We must make sure that the board's embedded equity policies permeate throughout the district.

Richard Evonitz -

(a) Addressing the gaps caused by remote learning: As we consider our return to in-person instruction, we must consider how the District will address the educational and social-emotional gaps caused by the need for remote learning. (b) Healing the divisiveness: We live in a diverse community with differing viewpoints. As elected officials, we need to listen to and respect all voices of the community. (c) Equity: I have been proud of the Board-initiated programs to address disparities in student growth by race and progress made to insure that the staff reflect the diversity visible in our student population. I look forward to telling that story during this campaign.

Kathleen Weiss Boyle -

Another priority is developing a human and facilities-minded health and wellness plan which is both responsive and anticipatory of the needs of the district. I would like to see universal classes in financial literacy, life skills, and offer a wider variety of classes in highly-skilled trades and career paths. Driver’s Education should be provided to all students – not because all students have the means or desire to own a car – but because the ability to drive bolsters confidence and independence, as well as opens access to employment opportunities – both in the near and long term.

I would like to establish true physical wellness opportunities for students with physical limitations that typical gym classes do not address, including – but not limited to – longer units on nutrition, in the weight room, in the cardio lab, and stretching, with the goal of achieving true overall improvements in health and wellness.

Lastly, I believe that many parents are unaware of the resources, programs, accommodations, or assistance for children who don’t quite fit the expected mold. Many may feel awkward about asking for guidance and assistance, and many only learn of these services the hard way - after their child has struggled, been labeled, been targeted, or stigmatized. These tools should be proactively promoted before kids enter the school system, before they face an achievement gap. How these resources are presented will make all the difference in the world! For example, it should not be a secret that the school offers locker and lock accommodations for those whose physical or intellectual abilities necessitate them, and those getting those accommodations should not be required to have their locker placed solely in one specific geographic area. This enables labeling, bullying, and taunting, and causes lasting trauma, and students often choose to forego even using these lockers out of avoidance. Students should not need to adopt survival and self-preservation skills just to have a place to hang their coats. Students should not ever feel that it is safer for them to simply carry their entire day’s books around with them every single day.

There should be more gender-neutral bathrooms and their presence and availability should be known and unrestricted. Some bathrooms are regularly removed from service and are secured from the outside. Access to any and all bathrooms should be unrestricted, both as a matter of health and hygiene, as well as in case of need such as during a lockdown.

Lastly, while the District 219 School Board is established for our high schools, building a better District 219 brings to mind famed American architect and urban planner, Daniel Burnham. “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.” Applying this to our community - early intervention - which perhaps falls outside the scope of this school board, merits consideration. There should be a unilateral program across D219 and all of its “feeder” schools, where every child would have a pre-school screening and periodic evaluations throughout their academic lives, so that they can be set up for success from the start, wherever their path leads them on their educational journey. So much more than a report card, this would be a way to make sure that those needing services can get them before time is lost, whether it be an academically advanced child who may also be on the autism spectrum, or a child who struggles due to issues outside of school (homelessness, food insecurity, language barriers, etc...). The district’s schools and social services can openly promote programs and provide outreach and discreetly guide parents and provide them with tools and resources to set students up for success on every level.

True equity can and will have a positive impact on everyone we serve. I see no reason why District 219 cannot ambitiously provide a model for others to emulate. Another priority is developing a human and facilities-minded health and wellness plan which is both responsive and anticipatory of the needs of the district. I would like to see universal classes in financial literacy, life skills, and offer a wider variety of classes in highly-skilled trades and career paths. Driver’s Education should be provided to all students – not because all students have the means or desire to own a car – but because the ability to drive bolsters confidence and independence, as well as opens access to employment opportunities – both in the near and long term.

I would like to establish true physical wellness opportunities for students with physical limitations that typical gym classes do not address, including – but not limited to – longer units on nutrition, in the weight room, in the cardio lab, and stretching, with the goal of achieving true overall improvements in health and wellness.

Lastly, I believe that many parents are unaware of the resources, programs, accommodations, or assistance for children who don’t quite fit the expected mold. Many may feel awkward about asking for guidance and assistance, and many only learn of these services the hard way - after their child has struggled, been labeled, been targeted, or stigmatized. These tools should be proactively promoted before kids enter the school system, before they face an achievement gap. How these resources are presented will make all the difference in the world! For example, it should not be a secret that the school offers locker and lock accommodations for those whose physical or intellectual abilities necessitate them, and those getting those accommodations should not be required to have their locker placed solely in one specific geographic area. This enables labeling, bullying, and taunting, and causes lasting trauma, and students often choose to forego even using these lockers out of avoidance. Students should not need to adopt survival and self-preservation skills just to have a place to hang their coats. Students should not ever feel that it is safer for them to simply carry their entire day’s books around with them every single day.

There should be more gender-neutral bathrooms and their presence and availability should be known and unrestricted. Some bathrooms are regularly removed from service and are secured from the outside. Access to any and all bathrooms should be unrestricted, both as a matter of health and hygiene, as well as in case of need such as during a lockdown.

Lastly, while the District 219 School Board is established for our high schools, building a better District 219 brings to mind famed American architect and urban planner, Daniel Burnham. “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.” Applying this to our community - early intervention - which perhaps falls outside the scope of this school board, merits consideration. There should be a unilateral program across D219 and all of its “feeder” schools, where every child would have a pre-school screening and periodic evaluations throughout their academic lives, so that they can be set up for success from the start, wherever their path leads them on their educational journey. So much more than a report card, this would be a way to make sure that those needing services can get them before time is lost, whether it be an academically advanced child who may also be on the autism spectrum, or a child who struggles due to issues outside of school (homelessness, food insecurity, language barriers, etc...). The district’s schools and social services can openly promote programs and provide outreach and discreetly guide parents and provide them with tools and resources to set students up for success on every level.

True equity can and will have a positive impact on everyone we serve. I see no reason why District 219 cannot ambitiously provide a model for others to emulate.

Elana Jacobs -

I know that equity and safety and student voices are really important to the community. As a board member I would attend as many in person and virtual district 219 school and community events to see and listen what is going on. I will continue to work with my

contacts from many different community organizations to make sure BIPOC youth and adult voices are amplified. I will work with administration to make sure that community members have responses to the questions, comments and inquiry that they ask. I also understand that these concerns are my neighbors and I will be part of decisions that are well researched.

Ross Sawyers -

As a college professor, I see first-hand how education has become big business with corporations such as Pearson, MacGraw Hill, or Houghton Mifflin all of which report annual revenues in the billions, control the content of what our children learn in school. I believe it is critical that education boards start to question the role of these corporations and support curriculum that reflects the world as it is.

Naema Abraham -

In my observation, our greatest failure is our inability to create a diverse teacher population to match the diversity of our student population. An overwhelming amount of studies shown students do better when they have access to teachers of color, teachers who look like them. They have better academic outcomes and they are more likely to attend college.