U46 candidates talk parent engagement, district budget

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

ELGIN — Anybody will tell you there are a lot of issues facing schools.

But four Elgin residents actually will have the ability to tackle some of those issues in School District U46 when they’re elected to the U46 Board of Education on April 5.

Four seats on the school board are up for grabs this spring. And Board President Ken Kaczynski of Bartlett and past president Karen Carney of Bartlett are not seeking re-election.

That leave six candidates vying for those four-year spots: Amy Kerber, Maria Bidelman, Gary Percy, Traci O’Neal Ellis, Jennifer Shroder and Mary Akemann VanSlyck, all of Elgin.

The Courier-News asked those candidates what they thought the biggest issues facing U46 were — and how their approaches to those issues set them apart from their opponents. Here’s what they said:

Maria Bidelman

Bidelman was convinced to run for her first term on the school board four years ago by friends who thought, as an educator, she could offer a different perspective, she said. And, she added, “Being an educator, I kind of want to know what’s going on.”

She is a social worker at an alternative high school in Crystal Lake Community High School District 155 and has two children in U46 — one in the much-lauded dual language program at Channing Memorial Elementary in Elgin.

“The biggest issue for District U46 is to provide the greatest educational experience for all students in U46. This is a lofty goal, especially during one of the most challenging times for education. However, we have no business being in the business of education if we didn’t have this essential goal.

“With the dedication and talent that the district has in the classroom, I am confident that the district can achieve this goal. Why am I so confident? I would like to highlight a few things U46 students and staff have accomplished just in the last 2 years…

“The number of students taking AP courses in the last two years has more than doubled going from 538 to 1,094 students. In addition, this group of students is more diverse and their AP test scores have gone up considerably.

“Last year, 619 students that achieved the National Workplace Readiness Certificate, rising from 42 in 2007, 82 in 2008 and 405 in 2009. Due to partnerships created between U46 and the Elgin Chamber of Commerce, these certificates have provided value to the students that earn them and to the businesses hiring their workforce.

“This year, 23 new teachers have achieved National Board Certification. In the two years prior, ten teachers earned this certification, thus the number of this elite group of teachers has more than doubled, rising to a total of 53 in the district.

“These accomplishments, and many more, have been achieved despite decreasing resources for the classrooms.

“What sets me apart? I have the pride and confidence in District U46, passion for public education and the awareness of my role as a board member to realize this necessary goal for our students and for our community. Please share in this pride and confidence for sake of all of our students.”

Amy Kerber

Being part of the school board always has been a personal goal of Kerber’s, she said. She’s a former educator, she said, and “that’s who I am at heart.”

Four years ago, she made that happen when she was elected to her first term on the U46 board. The board just now is “finally seeing the light” after one crisis after another, and the part-time medical records worker and mom of three (the youngest will start kindergarten in U46 in the fall) said she’s ready to have some serious discussions about what the school district can do — not what it can’t do because of the money its owed by the state.

“Engagement is critical to the district’s success. U46 continues to struggle with reputation and morale. It’s important that the community take pride in our school system and that both students and staff feel positive about their experiences here.

“The more effectively the district engages all of its stakeholders in a shared vision, the better our outcomes. It takes invested staff, parents, and community members to address the two primary concerns of the district — student achievement and fiscal responsibility. Engagement must be deliberate and meaningful.

“My strength in approaching this issue is perspective – that of a parent, a former teacher, taxpayer and experienced Board member. The blend of my professional and personal experiences helps me see issues from many different angles. My visibility and accessibility as a parent have given me opportunities to be an ambassador for U46 and advocate for engagement. I am able to help parents and community increase knowledge of the district while I gain an awareness of common concerns. “I’m encouraged by the direction we are heading. In order for U46 to make significant movement toward the ambitious goals of Destination 2015, everyone needs to be on board. This won’t be an easy journey but there is a bold agenda for student achievement and I believe in the potential of U46.”

Mary Akemann VanSlyck

VanSlyck — a former career specialist at Bartlett High School, whose job recently disappeared with state funding — was raised believing public service was what you did in life. Her father spent 18 years on the U46 Board of Education; her mother, many years on the housing authority.

The lifelong Elgin resident got her start serving the school district when her youngest son was accepted to the U46 Science, Engineering and High Technology Academy at Bartlett, and she asked the district’s Citizens Advisory Committee why it didn’t have a committee devoted to the academies. The CAC asked her why she didn’t chair it.

“The challenge is to balance the need to educate students from non- English speaking and low income homes with the need to provide all children with a quality education so that even gifted students are not short changed in the process.

“My children received an excellent education in U46. Any student who wants to be successful and takes advantage of all that is offered from honors classes, auto shop, sports and school plays will graduate ready to face any kind of academic or work environment.

“U46 has to have our students from low income environments take hold of those same opportunities and be as successful. Students come to U46 from many different points on the ready for school continuum. We must help those students performing below established minimum standards to rapidly catch up.

“We need to convey to parents that high expectations are the key to student success. Parents need to expect students will graduate well. We must communicate in new and multiple ways with parents in this digital and electronic age, so they can support their students.

“Change takes time. We need to focus on a few, defined improvements over longer than a year. Education research does not hold perfect answers and there is no one single thing that will help every low performing student to academic growth. I will press for evaluation of all programs and look at successful schools and teachers in U46 to model and share that success.”

Traci O’Neal Ellis

Ellis has “education in her blood,” she said. Her parents both were longtime educators in U46; Her father, Ron O’Neal, was the district’s first African-American administrator. He’s also the one who taught her, she said, “You can’t just suck resources from the community.”

When Ellis — who runs her own law practice, as well as workshops and networking through Ladies Who Launch Chicago — thought about where he had said, what had shaped the person she’s become, she thought of U46.

“The biggest issue facing the school district right now is closing the achievement gap among students and focusing on academic success for all students. This will ensure college and workplace readiness for our kids.

“I support the district improvement plan, known as ‘Destination 2015,’ and believe it is appropriately aggressive and contains the right benchmarks. However, any discussion of achievement gaps and college and workplace readiness cannot begin and end with the school district alone. We have to have meaningful engagement with all stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers and the community at large to better address these complex issues.

“In order to increase academic achievement for all students, we need to examine (and re-examine in some cases) a broad variety of initiatives. For example:

“A longer school day—kids need more time on task. If we continue to follow the same timing, we risk maintaining the same lag in achievement.

“A longer school year—for the same reason as above.

“Community learning centers—where volunteers (perhaps retired educators) provide under-performing students additional, focused attention.

“These are just a few examples of many possibilities. Whether these are the right initiatives (and whether we are willing and able to re-allocate resources to them) remains to be seen, but my approach is to bring more voices to the discussion, to ensure a richer, more transparent conversation, in order to yield better outcomes for the 41,000 students that we have the responsibility to educate.”

Gary Percy

Percy ran for a seat on the school board four years ago — and lost by 349 votes, he remembered.

But the vice-chair of the U46 Citizens Advisory Council, who works for American Airlines, is undaunted: He believes the second-largest school district in the state has “a lot of potential” to be a state and national leader, especially now that “education reform” is such a buzzword, he said. And he’d like to be part of the team that leads the district into the 21st Century, he said.

“The biggest issue has to be funding. Sad as it is, everything flows from money, everything from the mundane, such as budgeting, to capital expenditures like new school buses. Without an adequate, stable revenue stream from which to start, the “task of educating our youngsters is that much more difficult.

“I don’t want this to be misunderstood that I favor higher taxes, be it property taxes or some other state tax. I believe the whole process could be simplified if Springfield got their financial house in order first. Then, simplify the Illinois school code, which right now numbers 1790+ pages, and return control back to local school boards.

“Here are just 2 examples of what I consider meaningless meddling in local school policy, 1. HB0288 ‘provides that a school board shall require that schools provide daily recess for all students in K-8, and must be at least 10 minutes in length.’ 2. HB1566 ‘requires a school district’s school lunch program to include flavored milk.’

“Again the state comes up with what amounts to needless unfunded mandates. I’m sure there are better ways for school district’s to budget and spend money.

“Having served on the Citizens’ Advisory Council in general, and the CAC Legislative Committee in particular, and being a charter member of Ruth Munson’s Legislative Roundtable, I believe gives me an edge with local politicians in at least trying to remedy the funding crises facing Illinois school districts, and specifically U46.”

Jennifer Shroder

Shroder, a freelance editor, said when her friends first approached her with the idea, she wasn’t sure she would make a good school board member. But then, she said, “No one wanted to be (Ellis Middle School) PTO president and I didn’t think I would be good at that. It turns out, I am really good at it. All you have to do is get parents involved — and I am really good at that.”

That’s also one of the things she thinks the school district needs more of, she said.

“I began running just wanting answers from board members who never responded to anything I asked about.

“Parents who have questions for the school board have to go through the district to even e-mail them. Members are actively discouraged from responding to parents and other stakeholders. That is wrong since voters should be heard. It’s called democracy.

“Then it became clear no one at the district seems to understand the importance of parents. Further, the district has the bad habit of being dismissive, condescending and downright rude to parents, even telling parents that they should consider moving out of the district if they feel there is something wrong. That attitude will only serve to alienate the people whose help we need. (Why get involved with those who consider you unimportant/superfluous?)

“All the data shows that getting parents involved in schools raises the scores of those children and costs next to nothing. We can’t afford to discount parents any longer.

“Schools are only as good as the leaders at the helm. Good leaders are good communicators, who work to create honest, supportive, trusting relationships with parents and teachers. That is how you change the mindset of the district from one that is adversarial to collaborative. This improves our reputation to.

“I know how to get parents into schools. I’ve done it for years. And I have concerns about the board’s independence. I am not afraid to be the voice for our community and do what’s right for our kids.”