Nicole Dawson: 2021 candidate for Glenbard High School District 87
Eight candidates are squaring off for four, 4-year seats on the Glenbard High School District 87 board in the April 6 election. They are newcomers Nicole Dawson of Glen Ellyn, Cyndi Covelli of Lombard, David Dejanovich of Glen Ellyn, and Kermit Eby of Lombard, and incumbents Robert (Bob) Friend of Lombard, Jennifer M. Jendras of Glen Ellyn, Mireya Vera of Lombard, and Judith Weinstock of Glen Ellyn.
They responded to a Daily Herald questionnaire seeking their thoughts on some of the most pressing issues facing the district.
Below are Dawson's responses.
In-person early voting with paper ballots begins Feb. 25 at DuPage County Fairgrounds Building 5, 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton. In-person early voting with touch-screen voting begins March 22 at locations throughout the county. Learn more at www.dupageco.org/earlyvoting/.
Eight candidates for four, 4-year terms
Bio
Town: Glen Ellyn
Age: 49
Occupation: Human resources, self-employed and HRBoost, LLC, HR shared services providers
Civic involvement: A 14-year member of Glen Ellyn Junior Women's Club, a philanthropic group supporting community groups, including SCARCE, Teen Parent Connection, DuPagePADS, Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center, Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company, Supplies 4 Success/Partnership for Educational Progress (PEP Foundation), People's Resource Center, Project Linus, and WDSRA. Former Park View Elementary PTC vice president and president, chair of program committees, including Olympic Field Day, Girls on the Run, and Glen Crest Middle School's Amazing Race.
Q&A
Q: Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?
A: As a parent to a current D87 student and with two other children entering the district over the next two years, I have a vested interest in the curriculum and the enrichment programs available to our students. I would like to see a greater presence of the parent voice on the D87 BOE, as it is currently underrepresented. Of particular interest to me is developing more diverse and robust postsecondary planning programs and curriculum for our students. I would like postsecondary planning conversations to start as early as ninth grade with greater attention to college alternatives, and I would like progress to be tracked and results shared. I would also encourage consideration of aptitude and predictive behavior assessments to help students better identify and develop their strengths with consideration for their interests and future success. I will draw from my 20-plus years of career experience in human resources, specifically, Diversity Equity & Inclusion initiatives and workforce planning, to thoughtfully drive these agendas.
Q: How would you grade the current school board on its response to the pandemic? Why?
A: I grade the current board's pandemic response a "C." They were faced with an unprecedented challenge, and they have approached solutions with safety at the forefront. I agree that safely is critical, but their slow response time and lack of creativity to developing solutions that support providing a full day of learning for our students, 5 days a week, negatively impacts our students' academic and social/emotional development and well-being. The negative effects will continue for a yet unknowable time to come. There are districts around us that have been successful accommodating a full schedule for their students, as well as opportunities for participation in live group activities. I am disappointed that even after 12 months we are still not able provide our students that level of engagement, remote or in-person. From what I have observed, the current board has been reactive, responding to student and family concerns related to the pandemic only when pressed. I would like to see, and will contribute to, a proactive approach.
Q: How do you view your role in confronting the pandemic: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?
A: As a board member I will be accountable to all voices - students, parents, teachers, staff, administration. I will be sensitive to all points of view and collaborate to establish policy with consideration for all interests and with the objective of providing the highest level of education and diverse enrichment opportunities to our D87 students, inclusively. We know so much more about COVID-19 now than we did 12 months ago. I want us to follow and apply the science to get those interested in returning to in-person back in, at a full schedule, including extracurricular group activities and athletics. Science is telling us that we can, expert advice is telling us that we should, and thanks to federal COVID-19 relief funding, our district has the resources to ensure a safe in-person environment for teachers and students. Lets get our essential worker teachers vaccinated as quickly as possible, for those interested, and return to a robust, live, full schedule, 5 days a week learning environment where our students thrive. We can continue to accommodate those who may be at risk, and even when considering special circumstances we must look to science and apply that knowledge as we make decisions.
Q: Did your district continue to adequately serve students during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to continue providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.
A: Yes and no. Our teachers and staff did an exemplary job making necessary changes to our technology resources in an effort to enable remote learning. This was a completely new endeavor, and they responded to the need. We will continue to lean on these solutions well into the future, perhaps eliminating snow days and even some student absences. The district has failed our students' social emotional development well-being with their slow response to accommodating an in-person learning experience and extracurricular group activities. The district has also failed our students with a reduced learning schedule. The loss of classroom hours, be they remote or in-person, puts D87 students behind other students whose schedules have not been reduced. We need to be talking now about the resources the district will engage to help our students make up for these lost hours, as well as the mental health and support resources needed to help them reacclimate to a schedule that, in due time, requires them to leave their houses.
Q: Do you have a plan on how to safely and effectively conduct classes in the spring? What have you learned from the fall semester that you would change in the spring?
A: I agree with the steps taken by our district thus far to ensure a safe environment for spring classes. This includes providing PPE, clean air mitigation, increased efforts to clean and sanitize facilities, requiring masks while on-site, and requiring self-health certification from students, teachers and staff on in-person days, be it for learning or extracurriculars. The additional steps of requiring weekly saliva samples from students, teachers and staff entering D87 facilities and encouraging those able to get the COVID-19 vaccine are important and valuable steps. The district engaged an architectural firm to help us better understand the square footage available for teaching in our schools and to plan for how many students we can safely accommodate in our classrooms with regard for social distancing restrictions. For increased effectiveness, I would refer to this data to develop a full-day schedule that includes time for lunch in a safe environment, for those ready to return to in-person. In addition to the resources available through D87, we can refer to plans that have been successfully implemented in other districts.
Q: What is your position on allowing high school sports to continue during the pandemic? Be specific.
A: Sports and other group extracurriculars are critical to ensuring D87 students have a well-rounded secondary education experience that supports peer interaction, social/emotional development, and mental well-being. The science is telling us that our students can participate in sports with limited risk for spreading COVID-19 when safety measures in place, including wearing masks, social distancing as appropriate, self-health certifications, and saliva testing. For those comfortable doing so, I strongly support allowing D87 students to participate in sports and other extracurriculars, following the science and responding to changing needs specific to mitigation requirements. I also support family and friends in attendance at events within safety guidelines.