To help inform voters on who's running for Chicago's elected school board, the Chicago Tribune education team posed a series of questions to the candidates in each district. These questions ranged from basic information on their background and campaign platform to their stance on several issues facing Chicago Public Schools.
Education: Sullivan Elementary; Bachelor of Arts, Central State University; master's in communications, Northwestern University
In the interest of transparency, the candidate's responses shown here are published as written and have not been edited by the Tribune.
Did you attend Chicago Public Schools or is anyone in your immediate family a CPS student? Yes.
Have you worked at Chicago Public Schools or another school? What is your background in education?
Yes, I am a graduate of CPS, a former Gale teacher, a former Gale LSC member, the current president of Gale Grows Kids, and an education organizer with ONE Northside. As an education organizer, I've grown parent mentor programs from one school to eight. In these schools, I work with principals, teachers and parents, mostly women of color, to provide voluntary service in classrooms where additional support is needed.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
As an education organizer, I have had the honor of being an integral part of Illinois' Grow Your Own (GYO), a teacher recruitment program that focuses on placing teachers of color in front of students of color. With GYO, I had the honor of supporting parents, adult learners, and community members as they balanced busy lives while working towards their goal of being teachers.
In 2012, I fought alongside many others against the mass school closures. To this day, Gale School, where I was developed and taught, is still here because of the education organizing and power-building I helped lead. As an organizer, I believe those most affected by the issues have the answers. I continually build power with my community and make decisions in collaboration with others.
I believe decision making in relationship with others is the precedent that needs to be set after our first elections for this board. As the only candidate with almost 30 endorsements from groups and individuals that represent thousands of people, I am the candidate that can do just that. My work and life experience have revolved around the betterment of students and families in my community. If elected, I am committed to elevating their voices and setting priorities with them.
How would you describe your district?
District 2 has unique issues like language access. Schools that I work in across the district are in dire need of translation and ESL support. We are also losing affordable housing and many of our students are unstably housed. I believe that our district and our city want quality and high-impact neighborhood public schools. Common issues in the district include challenges with providing neurodivergent children with curriculum and accommodations that meet their needs and ensuring our schools have high-quality early childhood programming. I would represent the district the same way I've worked as an organizer: by bringing together those impacted by education issues like students, families, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, community stakeholders, and changemakers to get the facts and the solutions we need.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
CPS should prepare young people to be confident and capable in their adulthood. A school board can achieve this by ensuring mental health supports, art programming, a strong curriculum, and investing in extracurriculars to produce students as well-rounded as possible. As a board member, I hope to strengthen our neighborhood schools' resources and create more community supports throughout our school system. I received a quality neighborhood education and was able to explore the arts and have a rigorous and college preparatory curriculum, and my desire to run is influenced by the fact that I want those opportunities for all of my community members.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
I want to ensure that all of our students, regardless of where they live, can attend a quality school within walking distance of their homes. As a parent, I know that the decisions made about a child's education are incredibly personal, and I want to ensure that no parent feels that they must make the sacrifice of a long commute that can preclude a child from building relationships close to home for their child to learn.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
This campaign is people-powered. We have volunteers and supporters knocking doors with me nearly every day, calling our neighbors to ask for their vote, and showing up strong and proud for community events like forums. This campaign is also about listening. An elected school committee member has a duty to represent the people's best interests, and to do that, we have to listen to their needs. And finally, this campaign is about equity and power. As the only candidate in this race with recent in-class experience, and the founder of a nonprofit dedicated to diversifying our teacher workforce, I know that before we take action, we must understand the problems and hear from those who are impacted the most.
Given this year's budgetary problems and disagreements on how to solve them, what do you propose for the district's funding in future years? Would you support the district in taking on any loans in future years to fund the annual budget?
This is a very serious issue that requires a real sit down with every person invested in our schools, and our city as a whole. While we have great businesses in this city that could partner with our schools, we absolutely need more from our government to fix this problem. We need to look at other sources of revenue for our schools, and get creative to find sustainable solutions - can the use of TIFs for luxury development be tied to a percentage set aside for schools? I While I may not have the answer right now, I will remain open to new solutions and work tirelessly with my fellow board members to discover one. I believe the recent move to evidence-based funding models is moving in the right direction. We also need to consider shifting the revenue streams for education.
The new funding model will reveal a lot about which is truer, but I feel that the state has never really supported the district at the level that we deserve. A balanced budget will require progressive revenue, and I plan on working with city and state partners to determine the best path forward that won't put extra pressure on the pockets of working people.
The Chicago Board of Education recently adopted a new 5-year Strategic Plan. Which aspects do you support and which would you change, if any?
I support key aspects of the Chicago Board of Education's new 5-year Strategic Plan, particularly the expansion of early childhood education and efforts to improve special education services. These initiatives are vital to ensuring equitable access to quality education for all students, starting from a young age and providing necessary resources for those with special needs. However, I believe the plan could be strengthened with a greater focus on infrastructure improvements. Specifically, I would advocate for increased investment to refurbish and renovate schools facing serious environmental hazards, such as asbestos and mold, to create a safer and healthier learning environment for students and staff.
As thousands of migrant families settle in Chicago, how should the District handle the influx of English learners? What more should be done to ensure consistent bilingual education is provided and funded?
Our city is struggling with this and of course that also shows up in our schools too. Assessments could be used ensure all English learners are receiving the right level of instruction. Often English language learners need additional social and community support. I would work with partnering agencies to bolster the other skills students need to be successful in classrooms. Being incredibly intentional to include parents and families of newcomers and existing students in the various English learning classes is one way to support this group of students. We must work harder to include their parents and families in the education process in the same way English speakers are included in their students' educations. Schools need to be more inclusive and responsive to families and provide language classes to the community at large.
We definitely need to find sustainable ways to develop our city's teaching force, but in the meantime, we should expand the Parent Mentor program that works so well in many of our schools. This programming brings parents and community members, many of whom speak the languages where programming is limited, into the fold and keep our students on track for a successful future.
Do you believe the District has historically underinvested in South and West side schools? Yes.
If yes, what solutions would you propose to address inequities and opportunity gaps in the school system?
As a former teacher, I can't help being particularly disturbed by these results. I would support funding policies that increase equity and decrease the funding disparity across zip codes. I would support funding policies that are sustainable rather than regressive. I would support funding that returns more art, music, STEM and other programs that children enjoy so much, the reasons they want to go to school. I fully support the new funding model - it takes a very strong step towards equity and we must keep our eyes on schools that receive new resources and ensure that we invest in what works.
Firstly, parents need to be involved in their communities, especially their schools. They need to be at the table on their Local School Councils, and I plan to include parents during my decision-making on the school board. We also need to ensure that these schools provide services that the wider community can appreciate, which is why I support expanding the SCS model. All of our schools could benefit from the enrichments that are included in the SCS model.
Often, these models include ways to support the parents and community holistically, which will only further the growth of the students. Schools are public institutions that should be easily navigated by community members and places to receive resources for those in need: night classes, food pantries, housing resources, career skill building, tutoring and academic enrichment. Arts programming would give our students more opportunities to be recognized as gifted, not just testing well, and would provide the wider population with a resource hub.
Since his election, Mayor Johnson has indicated a desire to move away from school choice and bolster neighborhood schools. This was recently reinforced by in the District's 5-year Strategic Plan. Do you share this position? Why or why not?
Yes. Chicago Public Schools made me who I am; our neighborhood school has been the centerpiece of our community. But it is important to note that we do need diverse opportunities for students and there is a place for selective schools and charter schools in learning, particularly for students with high needs or other challenges.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
We have to double down on our commitment not only to our students with special needs, but to our students in the outer parts of the city headed to selective enrollment schools. My son was able to attend his magnet elementary school because he received busing from Rogers Park to Uptown, and more students should be given that opportunity.
We need to recruit members of our communities to become bus drivers. These are good jobs with good benefits that can be filled by parents and community members. We absolutely need to bring back busing for our selective enrollments. My own son was able to go to his middle school due to busing, and I believe that it will improve the diversity at our selective enrollments.
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
This answer is easy because I am going to follow the will of parents and relationships that I have here on the north side of chicago- the parents, teachers, and administrators that I interact with daily are the experts on their situations. Our students should also have voice in what's happening with them, and I am accountable to my constituents and them alone.
In 2024, Chicago Public Schools' average literacy proficiency rate is 31%, an increase from pre-pandemic years. These rates, however, were lower for students from low-income families, English learners and students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs). How should the district seek to improve literacy rates going forward?
Ultimately this is about equitable resources. I would expect that those literacy divides are more stark when we overlay a map of Chicago Public Schools and see how each school is funded. We know that some schools have an abundance of resources and that student outcomes are higher where the education system is supported.
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
I do not want to destabilize students who are at charter schools and thriving, but there should remain a moratorium on new charter schools. Our priority as a board must be investing in public education.
Please provide your thoughts on how to keep Chicago Public Schools as safe havens for students to learn and flourish fear of violence. How do you propose the district approach this?
I would support policies that address the root causes of violence rather than focusing on punitive policies that are ineffective in reducing violence. I would advocate for policies and programs that increase healthy relationship-building among peers, including building conflict resolution skills and restoring and repairing relationships when harm is caused. I would also advocate for policies that add evidence-based counseling, mental health support, and mentorship programs so that students have good models for healthy relationships where conflicts don't end in violence. I do not believe SROs belong in school. Our officers belong outside of our campuses, where the worst violence is happening. The violence in our city is happening outside of the schools. Our officers should be making sure that our students get home safe rather than be in the building. Peer to peer conflict should not be handled by law enforcement inside of school buildings.