1. In ensuring a safe learning environment for LGBTQ+ students, what resources have you used so far to inform your policy? What organizations would you ask for help? Who are the experts you will call on to help in emergency situations relating to LGBTQ+ students, staff, teachers, and parents? What District 65's policies address LGBTQ+ youth, staff/employees, and educational topics? Do you have suggestions for board policy to alter, enhance, or amend current policies?

Our family is a strong ally and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.  Passersby will note we fly a pride flag outside our home year-round.  A second one hangs in my personal training studio, where I work with many LGBTQ+ clients.

Prior to moving to Evanston in 2021, we lived in the Bay Area.  While there, I volunteered for our Bay Area Rainbow Families group and the now-defunct Gender Spectrum. These causes will always carry extra significance to me.

As for informing D65 policies, I would rely upon the Trevor Project, WPATH, and guidelines from Ally Ed, Learning for Justice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I also use LGBTQ+ resources in my job as a strength coach and personal trainer.   Here are a few:

●  Athlete Ally to stay informed on issues within sport, including the exclusion of female athletes

●  Out Athlete Foundation connects LGBTQ+ athletes and allies around issues like safe, inclusive gyms

●  Decolonizing Fitness and a few other coaches discuss their experiences as queer people in the traditionally conservative fitness space. 

These resources guide a lot of my work, including with LGBTQ+ youth in personal and small group training. 

I have not personally faced any emergency situations with LGBTQ+ issues in academic settings, but one resource we’re aware of Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s Skokie office, which can be very helpful for constituents navigating the fallout from recent executive orders.

2. How familiar are you with the district’s policy around LGBTQ+ youth? What questions or further learning do you have? How familiar are you with the district’s policy around LGBTQ+ staff members and employees? What questions or further learning do you have?

         I have a bit of a unique perspective my family relocated to Evanston in 2021, before

which we lived in Northern California.  My experience is that D65 has much more robust policies and services for LGBTQ+ youth.

With that said, policies need to have teeth to be effective, so I want to learn more about compliance and enforcement. For example, D65 explicitly states that students will have access to gender-neutral restrooms, but from your later question, it seems that some schools or buildings are not honoring this. 

When any aspect of D65 falls out of compliance with written policy, the board must step up to clarify its expectations, provide additional training, and hold individuals accountable when necessary.

3. LGBTQ+ identities and the concept of inclusion have been under attack in public discourse. How will you remain committed to supporting these students and families and not just in a statement or stand alone policy? What are three specific actions you will take as a board member to support LGBTQ+ identities and principles of inclusion?

The federal government's recent attacks on LGBTQ+ identities are appalling and abhorrent. I appreciated Superintendent Turner’s Feb 6 email affirming D65’s inclusive focus and would like to see the district continue to show support for LGBTQ+ students and our other most marginalized communities.

If Evanston wants to live its progressive values, it can show unwavering support to our children in words and actions.

Here are three specific steps I will commit to:

1. Requesting an audit of all D65 systems to ensure that they have a non-binary option in any demographics section.  For example, PowerSchool should have this option every year when a student enrolls, as should HR.

2. Reaching out to middle school physical education teachers to ensure we’re providing inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students.  This fits within my professional expertise, and I’d like to ensure that gym class is not more fraught than it already is for middle schoolers.

3. Requesting an audit of all restrooms in all D65 properties that identifies gender-neutral options.

4. How will you respond to the problem that the schools do not have sufficient gender neutral bathrooms to serve the gender non-conforming and trans student population? Currently, teachers actively tell their gnc and trans students to use bathrooms which do not align with their gender, even though we know this directly exacerbates body dysphoria and leads to increased suicidal thoughts in the student body. Where will inclusive facilities be placed in an infrastructure priority list by you as an incoming board member? What is more important to address? What can wait?

See point 1 above.  I’d like to understand the scope of the problem and the reason for the scarcity of gender-neutral bathrooms, which goes against the written policy.  If it’s an oversight, then it needs to be fixed immediately, and I’m happy to take the lead. 

I’m perplexed as to why a teacher needs to refer to gender at all in the case of restrooms.  “Restroom” is a gender-neutral and perfectly descriptive term.  This sounds like a good opportunity for principals and teachers to adopt appropriate language when speaking with students.

As for priorities, I agree that inclusive facilities should be high on our list.  This is an area that can have an outsize impact on a student’s well-being.  Inclusive facilities should undoubtedly be the baseline expectation for any new or retrofitted buildings.  I’d like to learn more about potential changes we can make in our older buildings, in consultation with parents and staff.

5. The use of pronouns has been co-opted and politicized of late. What can you, and D65, do to educate our community in the importance of pronoun respect and introductions? What can you do to educate the community on the reality that pronouns are a part of speech and despite being politicized and weaponized, are not political?

Board members should model the expectations for the district with pronoun respect.  This is a matter of basic decency toward staff, teachers, and students.

In addition to making sure my daily actions align with our community values, I’d like to work with the community to create a communications plan.  I envision writing pieces for the Evanston Roundtable or other relevant publications on the power of pronouns.  There seems to be a misconception that pronoun usage matters only to the trans community, when as you state they’re a regular part of our everyday lives and speech.

6. D65 students encounter many adults throughout their day in addition to their teachers. How can you as a board member ensure queer students feel safe and supported in their identity throughout these interactions? How will you ensure that school staff abides by LGBTQ+ inclusive policies?

This is a great point.  I’d like to make sure that all job descriptions and employment contracts reflect our expectations regarding LGBTQ+ identities.  I’m eager to hear more from HR on this topic. 

7. Will you commit to creating a board policy to demand inclusivity training for staffers and volunteers beyond teachers? What accountability measures will you use if your administration doesn't meet your inclusivity training goals?

I can commit to demanding inclusivity for all staffers and volunteers.  I’d also like to understand why the current policies or training would exclude staff.  I’ve worked in a variety of organizations, all of which provided consistent training across employment type. 

In addition, I’d want to partner with HR to ensure we’re tracking training compliance so that we can report on our progress and identify gaps.

8. Do you agree with the district decision to eliminate focused equity weeks? In the past, the district devoted a week to LGBTQ+ visibility. A wonderful curriculum still exists. Would you encourage the administration to bring back that week of instruction and celebration? Do you feel the current plan of integrating lessons into the whole year has been done with fidelity across grade levels and schools? Do you feel that the current curriculum is inclusive and represents people in this community?

I’d like to hear about how the decision to eliminate these weeks was made.  Was it top-down from the administration without any feedback?  This has, unfortunately, been a pattern in recent years.  If so, I’d like to engage our entire community to gauge their perceptions and reactions.

Philosophically, I lean toward integrating LGBTQ+ visibility into the entire curriculum, but my job as a board member would not be to impose my own views but to facilitate a positive outcome for LGBTQ+ students.

9. Given the current financial situation, how will you make sure that training on this topic is still a priority for the district? How would you instruct the superintendent to ensure all schools are equally supporting LGBTQ+ kids, staff and families? What sort of trainings would you recommend?

I’m committed to maintaining the core elements of the academic and student experience, which includes fostering an inclusive environment.  At this time, the budget cuts will occur primarily in the areas of administrative staff, facilities, and ancillary services like bussing.  If that changes and the finances begin to encroach on school culture and training, I intend to forcefully push back. 

I’d also to explore supplemental tools in addition to training, such as parent-led workshops  

10. This comment/question was submitted in the community wide call for questions for this forum-

“In what ways is this topic important in the education of my children? I believe parents at home should take care of that topic not in schools.”

When addressed by a community member who wants to keep LGBTQ+ topics out of the classroom, what would the first three sentences of your reply email be?

“Dear ____:

Thank you for your feedback.  We address LGBTQ+ topics in the classroom so that children learn to act with empathy and respect toward people of all identities.  This helps foster a positive learning environment and prepares students to engage with the diverse world around them.  We believe this is an essential part of their general and civic education.”