Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
I am running for Chicago’s Board of Education because I have an INDEPENDENT voice. As an academic and educator, I have dedicated my entire 23 year career to teaching and leading change in Chicago Public Schools. My varied education experiences gives me the credibility and the experience to lead, effect change, and scale programs.
I bring experience as an educator that has taught high school classes and am now teaching future CPS teachers in a university setting. I bring experience engaging CPS leaders in Central Office meetings and bringing an education resolution before the Board of Education.
I bring experience as a parent to children that have lived in our schools pre and post-covid. This has opened my eyes to gaps in our education system, as a whole, but also brought joy as I saw teachers adapt and shift their strategies and mindsets to teaching in a virtual world.
I bring experience as a second-language English student that struggled in school and was supported by teachers that went the extra mile, spent the extra time, and fought to keep me on track. I bring the experience of a child that translated for my parents and wanted them to feel a part of or to participate in a world called “school”, but didn’t feel included.
It is with this humanity, in a place called “school” that you need experience, educators, and a systems thinker that has varied lived experiences; I bring that voice to the Board of Education. I am beyond honored to be here because I see myself in the eyes of every parent, every teacher, and every student.
I am running because this election is about asking the question “what do we need so students can learn?” Leading with that question opens the door to dialogue, discussions, and consensus building. It will lead us to the results we want to see and once we establish that link, the money or the resources will follow. An African greeting is "And how are the children?", this is exactly what we should be asking of our Board Members. Begin with the end in mind and map backwards.
I am running because I am the only INDEPENDENT voice in District 4. Politicians and unions are not running my campaign, and I am not carried on the dollars spent by the Charter schools. I am not the presumptive candidate chosen by special interests with private agendas. If those things are important to you then I am not your candidate.
What I do have is the experiences and knowledge of schools and education. I know teaching and learning, and know what questions we need to ask so that students will be successful in our classrooms and schools. I also know what questions to ask to deliver a budget that begins with the end in mind. As a voter, you want Board members like me to ask questions that will increase student performance and outcomes with an empathetic, fiscally responsible, outcomes oriented budget.
Why are you the most qualified candidate?
I am the ONLY candidate that was a CPS high school teacher, a manager at CPS Central Office, a current CPS mom of two, a multi-term elected LSC member and current LSC Chair, and holds a Doctorate in Education Organization and Leadership that is teaching future CPS teachers at National Louis University.
I spent 8 years in the classroom, I spent almost 2 years investigating, researching, and advocating for academic and social emotional interventions that can fill skill gaps in learning (which is not tutoring). I was in CPS classrooms throughout Covid when we suddenly flipped the switch and all of a sudden I was teaching teachers how to use and incorporate technology so students could continue learning while schools were closed.
I am still actively coaching in CPS classrooms throughout the city. I am the one that can build consensus through connection to schools, administrators, classrooms, teachers and students. I know how to advocate for a school budget that is tied to student outcomes…I have done that for the past 6 years as an LSC member and Chair.
Near and dear to my heart, I am currently a parent to children in a CPS neighborhood school. Watching my children grow up in a school community that supports them, encourages them, and offers them amazing school experiences is extraordinary and I need to make sure it is happening for all children throughout my district and city.
What is the biggest issue facing your specific school board district?
District 4 and city wide, I believe the biggest issue we are facing is the lack of opening pathways for the future. We need experiential learning opportunities in all our schools and classrooms. We need labs where students can create, engage with, and build. We need our schools to begin career exploration in the elementary years.
A career path needs planning and our students and families need to understand that Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a very real and good option. CTE jobs are in high demand and will provide upward mobility. In addition, CTE pathways lead to postsecondary and advanced degrees.
All students must leave their schools with “the ability to select an occupation that does in fact have a career pathway associated with it rather than simply taking the first job that comes along” (Conley, 2010, p. 5).
How has your district been impacted by the shuttering of CPS schools?
Closing schools destabilizes the lives of students, families, teachers, and administrators in every part of Chicago. Schools are ANCHORS in EVERY community.
A successful CPS school system benefits all Chicagoans, even those without children, without students in CPS and with students in neighborhoods on our north, south, and west sides. Good stewardship of our school system is a collective investment in Chicago’s prosperity (both culturally rich and monetarily), vibrance, safety, and future. CPS does not exist in a vacuum, it exists in this microcosm of a great city.
How have your district’s schools been impacted by students who are new arrivals to the U.S. and how should CPS best accommodate those students and families?
Over the past two years, I have witnessed the courage and compassion CPS schools and teachers have extended as they have welcomed migrant children and families into their classrooms. I understand the challenges, but the answer is multifaceted and requires a new school budgeting model. Let me provide you with a brief context (non-exhaustive).
Pulaski (2230 W McLean Ave. in Bucktown) lost funding for a teacher in its Regional Gifted Center for English Learners. I surmise that teachers in the Gifted Center support the entire school as a whole with English Language learners.
Tubman (2851 N. Seminary Ave. in Lakeview) did not get full funding even though their enrollment increased approximately 15%. Tubman is serving more English Language learners than in previous years.
Sabin Dual Language (2216 W Hirsch St. in West Town) did not get fully funded even though they have welcomed approximately 80 migrant students.
My point is that CPS’ budgeting model is flawed. It’s not the formula used or accounting mistakes, it's that CPS holds schools accountable for running their operations that are not based on real-time factors. Does CPS value students?
How do you believe the school board should handle the looming fiscal crisis at Chicago Public Schools?
The Board of Education MUST transparently and publicly show the residents of Chicago
CPS’ budget.
When has CPS not had a looming fiscal crisis? As a taxpayer and CPS parent, I want to know how CPS is spending its money. Here are some questions I have:
1)What portion of the budget is unaccounted for?
2) What are the real estate costs for non-school buildings?
3) What contracts is CPS sitting on that haven’t been renegotiated?
4) How much does CPS pay for the food vendor? Is the quality worth the cost or is there another cost savings scenario we are not considering?
5) What portion of the budget does CPS outsource? Could there be a cost savings if done in house?
6) How much did Skyline (CPS’ standards-based, culturally responsive curriculum) really cost and how many schools are using it?
A moratorium on closing CPS schools is set to expire in January. Should CPS consolidate more schools?
The Board of Education has a fiduciary responsibility to consider consolidation as a fiscally responsible option to most effectively allocate limited funds. However, consolidation causes upheaval and is full of unintended consequences. I understand we must make rational, fiscally responsible, equitable, and empathetic decisions for Chicago and our public school students. However, two thoughts will guide my thinking and decisions.
First, I want to consider plans to co-locate education partnerships into existing school facilities before consolidating. Under-populated or under-enrolled schools should be considered first by CPS as shared facility sites with network offices and central office departments to reduce other real estate costs. Next, under-enrolled school buildings could be repurposed into CPS parent university sites, early learning centers, Chicago Community College off-campus classrooms, technology centers and hubs, Career Technical Education sites with local trade union partnerships, in addition to adult learning opportunities. This opportunity could also include partnering with NGOs, with an excellent example being the recently opened Xchange Chicago in Grand Crossing. Under-enrolled school sites are not just about students, schools are central to healthy communities. Education and education outreach can maintain healthy and vibrant communities.
Second, should a hard decision again be made to close schools, five considerations will frame my thinking.
My first concern is safety, asking students and families to enter a neighborhood or city area that is unsafe (whether due to crime or gang affiliations) is not acceptable. Second, schools provide children with food and health resources. A plan to replace those services must be in place before we consolidate. Third, schools contain free libraries and technology resources that may be in closer proximity to students and families than their local library branch. Serious efforts to bolster access must be considered. Fourth, consolidation must resist pandering to political views. Fifth, we must look at the data from prior closings and learn from unintended consequences of previous actions. Again we must make rational, fiscally responsible, equitable, and empathetic decisions for Chicago and our public school students.
What is your position on closing selective enrollment schools?
I do not support closing selective enrollment schools nor prioritizing one type of school over another. There are invaluable benefits to supporting ALL types of schools and those benefits outweigh any unintended consequence.
Students deserve to have a school or schools that will build their capacities, their curiosities, their knowledge at any given point in their PK-12 career. Children are individuals with unique talents, abilities, and needs…they deserve to have high quality schools that will build their capacities. A balanced view is necessary.
Chicago should be one of the best public school districts in the nation by offering excellent, high-quality neighborhood schools and for-choice schools for one reason: Students come first. Chicago can take it one step further by remaining independent from political pressure. Chicago needs to continue CPS’ trajectory in supporting or creating excellent schools as an option for every child in every neighborhood as a baseline.
What is your position on charter schools?
I was the ONLY candidate in District 4 that told a room full of union leaders at the Chicago Federation of Labor on September 10th at approximately 11:20 am that “Yes, I support charter schools if our students need them”. That is a memory one just cannot forget.
There are a myriad of reasons families and/or students select charter schools as their option. I, however, may have reservations with some charter rules of operations or in their curriculum.
Is your campaign being supported by the Chicago Teachers Union?
No
The Chicago Teachers Union wants the district to focus on retrofitting schools with equipment that will battle the effects of climate change. Is spending money that way right now a good idea with the massive deficit the district faces?
In 2018, Greta Thunberg, a courageous 15 year old student, used her voice to bring the effects of climate change to the forefront. Her student voice as well as those of students around the world and here in Chicago are calling adults to action: Science is real.
Is it a good idea…yes! But, “if solutions within this system are so impossible to find then maybe we should change the system itself?” (Thunberg, 2018, p.14).
What is your biggest priority and what do you hope to accomplish on the Chicago Board of Education?
The single most important issue facing CPS students is EARLY LITERACY DEFICIENCIES. Early literacy encompasses: Print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, narrative skills, and phonological awareness.
Early Literacy is the foundation of our PK-3rd grade classrooms. Early Literacy skills are foundational to reading, writing, and math skill development.
CPS MUST shift its focus to providing a WRAPAROUND education model that includes clinical and targeted interventionists (i.e., speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, reading and math specialists trained in scientific research-based practices that identify and teach specific skill gaps) to PROACTIVELY work alongside our teachers.
A Wraparound Education Model will:
- GARNER the BIGGEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT in public education;
- SUPPORT students so that by 4th grade they can make the timely shift from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn and acquiring new information and knowledge; and
- DERAIL excuses that student achievement is caused by outside factors (e.g., family, language, or class; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Fine, 2004; Noguera, 2007; Shields, 2004).