Below are candidate-submitted answers to a biographical survey Riverside-Brookfield Landmark sent out to all candidates running in this year’s elections.
Age: 43
Previous political experience: Current D95 Board Member since 2016
Previous community experience: N/A
Occupation: Clinical Supplies Manager
Education: BS-Molecular Biology; MS-Supply Chain Management
Why are you running for a seat on District 95 school board?
Currently serving on the D95 school board offers me a tangible way to be a part of shaping what we want our community to look and feel like. This starts with our children. The non-partisan nature of school boards allows using logic and data to drive decisions, not politics. I enjoy being a part of this process. I ask the community to continue to place their trust in me in order to complete the transformation of our school and prepare our children for the 21st century.
Are there any specific issues you would advocate the school board address, change or implement? The most common feedback I receive from the community is AC in the schools and parents/guardians do not like/understand the common core grading system. As a part of the renovations and expansions, we need to address the “old” sections of our buildings. These areas need to exceed 21st century standards and match what we’re doing to the new areas. The D95 board will need to couple this with modern curricula and grading systems.
By the beginning of the next school year, the renovations and expansion projects at Brook Park and S.E. Gross schools will be completed. What does the next school board need to do to ensure that initiative provides educational value to future students?
Core skills notwithstanding, (reading, writing, and arithmetic), we need to up our offerings in STEAM. I am most passionate about providing education and growth opportunities for our students in these areas. This sets them up for future successes. I would like to continue to enhance the new STEAM section at SEG and explore bringing an early education version to BP. This will plant the seed at a young age, allow the child to explore, see if they “really do like it” and we nurture them in that passion until they move onto HS.
What do you think about academic performance at schools in District 95? What areas do you believe could be improved and what action can the school board take to help improve student achievement?
The performance is top tier in the state. This indicates the trend is in the right direction and the curricula is “adequate”. That said, we cannot accept “adequate” in today’s hypercompetitive world. There are always opportunities for improvement, and we must seek and leverage them.
Are there programs District 95 could be providing to students that it does not already provide? If so, how might those programs be implemented?
What other issues are important to you as a school board candidate? How would you advocate for them as a board member?
