DISTRICT 65 SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM
The achievement gap between Black students and their counterparts has continued to grow in terms of percentage performing math and reading at their appropriate grade level. What is your specific plan to close that gap?
This important question deserves an entire D65 Board Meeting. I perceive the issue as an education gap in District 65’s service to students, not as an achievement gap on the part of students. Black students are having an educational experience that differs from their counterparts, and that results in different outcomes. This informs how I would address this problem. Based on my D65 experience as an educator, the top-down approach in D65 is making the problem worse. I advocate for a recentering of listening and implementing the feedback of teachers and parents, especially regarding classroom strategies. I would request an analysis of the interventions currently being provided to promote students’ success to ensure they are getting to the students they are intended for and being carried out with fidelity. I would promote the use of the D65 School Improvement days to target this issue by asking for collaborations with school districts that have been successful in 2addressing this and presenting topics directly related to goals of improving student achievement. The Superintendent’s contract needs to be amended to include specific student performance goals.
How would you maintain an emphasis on equity in district decision-making in the face of our current fiscal challenges and potential cuts in federal funding assistance?
My 7 years of experience as an equity participant and facilitator for D65 communities have taught me to ask three very important questions, to maintain a focus on equity, when making decisions regarding resources: who benefits from this decision/who does not, who gets to answer those questions—teachers and the impacted communities, and how do these concerns intersect?
I will prioritize what happens in the classroom while considering those factors. I commit to keeping the community, including the buildings, administrators, teachers, and staff, involved in the ongoing decisions needed to right-size D65. I recommend updating the D65 Equity Statement with specific, measurable goals related to funding. My goal is to turn practice into policy.
Historically, there has been a disproportionate representation of Black children, especially boys, being placed in special education. How would you ensure that the IEP isn't a life sentence for these students? What measures would you take to ensure that students are moving back into and have access to regular education classes?
As a physical therapist in the D65 Special Services department for 35 years, this is my area of extensive knowledge and experience. A student’s IEP is a yearly plan that, at minimum, should be reviewed each trimester grading period. It can also be reviewed at parent request, with anyone on the team. That could mean a note, a call, or a meeting. Communication is key. I view the IEP as a joint agreement between the educators and the parents. By law, it should be implemented in the least restrictive environment. Parents need to be aware of what the continuum of services and placement options are. As stated in D65 Strategic Goal 1: Equity: Objective 1.2 - Inventory, document and align education program options that empower students and parents to choose an education program that meets their needs. This means D65 should have a documented continuum of services with clear entrance/exit criteria for each class/program. The District needs to not hide behind technicalities and should help to ensure parents have the information and support on how to advocate for their students during IEP meetings. This is an issue because D65 fails to address the nuances and specific needs of each student as required by law. An IEP should be seen as a support for our students who need it, not a life sentence.
Student Achievement and Equity: How should D65 incentivize Black educators to go into teaching? Is equity at the forefront of the recruiting process?
The main priority of the D65 recruiting process is restoring trust and accountability in the system, to make it an attractive place for ANY teacher to work. Another priority is for the D65 Human Resources (HR) department to develop and implement a structured recruiting program, with equitable incentives and specific employment targets for the D65 teaching staff. This includes developing educational affiliations with collegiate programs and groups with high enrollments of black students. The HR department, in collaboration with DEC, could develop a professional cohort of D65 Black Educators to help orient and provide professional guidance to promote the retention of Black teachers. D65 should reinstate the Create Program, which provided assistance to D65 staff seeking to become educators.
In what ways have you contributed to and been involved with racial and social justice work in Evanston?
As a D65 employee, I participated in the first cohort of SEED (Seeking Education Equity and Diversity) during the 2016/2017 school year. I recognized the importance of this work and applied to become a trainer to offer this learning to a wider population of teachers, staff and parents/caregivers in D65. I completed training through the National SEED organization in July 2017. SEED is a ten-month seminar that meets monthly for three hours. Participants explore and build capacity to promote institutional change by examining their own education in relation to identities such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and how these factors currently impact their school, classrooms, community, or workplace. I’ve held in-person and virtual seminars for over 10 cohorts of teachers, staff and parents in D65 and neighboring communities. I was a supporter and participant in the Black Girl Magic Book Club during its initial years and am proud of the impact and expansion of the program. In 2021, I completed the Confronting White Nationalism in Schools toolkit trainer through the Western States Center and provided this training virtually to D65 educators. My social justice work in the Evanston community continues through my active membership in the Evanston North Shore Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
What is your understanding of the historic educational system/experience in Evanston?
I have 3 generations of lived experience with the D65 educational system as a student, parent and grandparent. I lived in the Fifth Ward until my kindergarten year. I moved to the Second Ward, which allowed me to attend Dewey School. When I was in 4th grade my younger siblings became the first class to attend Timber Ridge School, which required door-to-door bus service due to the racist threats my family received. Jim Crow segregation flourished in Evanston while I was a student in D65. Redlining and housing segregation influenced school boundaries and assignment. The Foster School I knew was attended by 99% Black students and was kept so, through frequent and creative redistricting. Despite the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, School District 65 did not voluntarily desegregate all of its schools until 1967. I was in 8th grade at Skiles Jr. High at the time. D65 then accomplished desegregation on the backs of black students by closing Foster School and busing them to schools all across Evanston. Foster re-opened as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Laboratory School in 1967, then closed in 1979 and moved to the Skiles building. The 5th Ward has been without a neighborhood school since that time. My daughter went to Washington School, but due to constant boundary line changes, I sent my son to Bessie Rhodes Magnet School. My granddaughter now attends Bessie Rhodes. That school is currently being dismantled as one of the components to building the ‘new’ Foster School.
What is the role of a school board member?
This is something I seriously studied before making a decision to become a D65 School Board candidate because I didn’t feel this was being demonstrated by many of the current Board members. There is specific guidance from the Illinois Association of School Boards regarding this. The primary roles of a school board member are to serve in trust for the community and participate responsibly. Members should come to meetings informed on the topics for deliberation and be willing to listen to multiple perspectives. Members should listen as much as the speak. Sometimes the work is to listen, agree and disagree as a member’s values dictate, and accept that the group decision is legitimate even if it’s not your personal choice. A school board member's role is to be responsible for group behavior and productivity. If a member has special expertise, they should use it to educate their peers. Members should stay centered on what happens in the classroom. Finally, a school board member should stay focused on the district’s values, mission, vision, and goals. In summary, ask the right questions, find the right solutions and focus on the right issues.
What informs your decision-making process?
My decision-making process is informed by my identity as a Black woman, my equity training, my experience as a physical therapist and D65 educator and my concern for the good of my community. I do extensive research to inform myself about the issue: being intentional about what resources I’m using for information while asking the right questions. I make sure I’m using accurate information and ask who benefits/who doesn’t from what is presented. I make sure multiple perspectives are being represented. I view my information through an equity lens: who contributes to the decisions being/not being made. I seriously consider the costs: people, time and dollars. Evaluating the outcome goals related to the decision is the final component.
How should the board and district administrators be held accountable for priorities facing the district?
The Superintendent, School Board, and administrators should be held accountable in the same way teachers are, with an annual evaluation using a research-based, detailed rubric. This means having established, specific performance goals for the Superintendent, Board and Administrators. The performance goals should have a reporting timeline to determine progress. If insufficient progress is not being made, an action plan should be required to correct that. If the action plan is not successful, this should affect continued employment.
A current board member recently stated during a meeting that the current superintendent was to be commended for not “sweeping the current financial challenges under the rug, which she could have done, but facing them head on". What is your view of the oversight role that the board has regarding the district leadership team?
I am deeply troubled by that comment and question the board member’s expectations regarding ethical behavior and accountability from a Superintendent. The Superintendent should have been fully transparent about the financial condition of D65. I think this attitude contributed to the Board not being aware of the financial challenges of D65 from previous administrators. I don’t think the current board has fulfilled their responsibility of oversight regarding the District leadership team. They have allowed the administrative organizational chart to explode in the number of positions and salary levels. They approved the current Superintendent’s contract without the specific performance benchmarks. They have not demonstrated the ability to ask the right questions, find the right solutions or focus on the right issues.
What is your position on the potential merger of D65 and D202?
I have attended a majority of the D65 Committee of the Whole and Regular Board meetings this school year. A potential merger has not been discussed nor a resolution to initiate a study for consolidation been made by either School Board. To merge the two districts, D65 salaries would have to rise to D202 levels costing about 20 million dollars which would not be covered by administrative cost savings. I don’t think a merger of D65 and D202 is a realistic expectation and should not be a priority right now. I think the financial status of D65 needs full attention.
Do you believe that Northwestern University should play a role in addressing the academic achievement gap in D65? If not, why not? If so, how so?
Northwestern University currently plays a role in addressing the education gap for students of color in D65 through the Northwestern-District 65 Partnership Office, established in 2016. A central focus of NU’s strategic plan is strengthening engagement with local communities through partnerships that promote bidirectional learning and broader community impact. This focus includes an emphasis on K-12 education and the educators, administrators, caregivers, ect. Programs include The Northwestern-Evanston Education Research Alliance - NEERA, Project Excite and EvanSTEM. This partnership could be expanded to a scale similar to that which ETHS receives. Northwestern has 38 substantial partnerships with Evanston Township High School.
What is your position on the residency requirement for D65 senior cabinet leaders? Beyond a residency requirement, what is your expectation for senior cabinet leaders to demonstrate Evanston community involvement?
The D65 superintendent should be required to have the same residency requirement as that of the D65 Board Members. The salaries offered to recent and current superintendents make this easily feasible. School Board members are assigned to be liaisons to specific D65 schools and should actively fulfill that role. The Evanston community has multiple opportunities for further engagement by the senior cabinet members, many which can be found on the City of Evanston Community Resources website.
What is your position on the Foster School construction project?
I was not in favor of moving forward with construction of the school based on several factors. The plan changed dramatically from a K-8 to K-5 building due to faulty cost estimates. Signs of gentrification have increased in the 5th ward which will influence the diversity of the student body. Building the new Foster School is contingent on the closing of Bessie Rhodes School, the only full-grade, TWI school in D65. The Superintendent and School Board were advised by the Luminate consultant they hired to pause the construction. They did not follow this advice. I am concerned that the student body the school is intended to serve will not receive the benefits.
There are currently no graduation requirements or minimum attendance requirements in D65. What is your position on graduation requirements?
I think D65 should have specific graduation requirements to define the D65 graduate profile that was developed during the 2021-2022 school year. A total of six competencies were identified to make up the D65 Portrait of a Graduate. The D65 website notes “more information will be coming soon”. It’s time for that to happen. Collaboration is needed with ETHS to determine these requirements and answer the question, “What are the academic expectations of an entering 9th grader in the core subjects?”.
What is the District’s responsibility to provide and implement research-based effective early intervention to our most vulnerable learners? (reading, math, writing, language)
District 65 currently provides an Early Head Start Program, Preschool for All and Head Start at the JEH Building. During my employment in D65, I spent the majority of my time working in the Pre-K and Head Start classrooms, so I know them well. These programs provide an age-appropriate curriculum and learning experiences in reading, writing, language and math. Incoming students requiring specialized learning services also attend these programs and benefit significantly from this early intervention. The majority of the classes are half-day, morning or afternoon. There is a demonstrated need for more full-day classes. I also completed special training, through the State of IL Department of Human Services, to receive an Early Intervention Specialist Certification in Physical Therapy. This allowed me to provide services to the students in the Early Head Start Programs, aged 0-3 years old. Both of these programs excel at family engagement and lay a strong foundation for a positive academic experience for all students, especially those of color. The model of family engagement in the D65 early intervention programs could benefit students throughout the district.
How can we ensure that families, teachers, and students have a voice in selecting culturally relevant curriculum?
We can ensure this by following the current D65 Strategic Plan. Strategic Goal 3 states: Curriculum Access to high-quality and culturally relevant curriculum materials that is/are challenging, relevant and academically rigorous to support student success. This goal can be implemented by making sure there is parent involvement in the activities of the D65 curriculum department. When curriculum changes are being considered, teachers and parents need a voice at the table to talk about the relevance of the content, their concerns with implementing the change, and to be informed on how the change will be evaluated.
What is your position on the current balance in D65 between SEL and the district's expectations for student academic achievement?
I understand the importance of and value the expectation that students will learn social-emotional skills along with academic skills. The students’ school and classrooms are communities where they have the chance to observe, learn, and practice social-emotional skills. The student report cards measure many of these skills in the learning habits. The D65 graduate profile includes goals of being: a global citizen, an inclusive collaborator and a socially aware leader. SEL directly supports this. I believe it’s not an ‘either/or’ but a ‘both/and’ expectation. SEL is the process through which students acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. Academic achievement cannot occur without strong social-emotional skills.
