Hey everybody. I heard early voting started.
From what I can tell, based on the various forums I’ve attended and conversations I’ve taken part in, we’ve got a group of informed, interested, and caring community members running for D65 school board, all who are concerned about the state of public education here in Evanston.
Since the start of this campaign season, I’ve been 100% positive about one candidate, and I was hoping to share why…
Patricia Anderson
Pat is a highly respected, retired D65 physical therapist, and we so badly need somebody sitting on the board who understands the day to day mechanics of our school buildings. Pat is familiar with all of them. She understands how the sausage gets made… forgive my metaphor featuring encased-meats.
Personally, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the following rhetoric: We can’t look back. The best is yet to come here in D65, which I’ve heard from one candidate in particular.
When it comes to educational outcomes for Black, Brown and other marginalized students, I unequivocally agree with this rhetoric. We have never closed the opportunity/achievement gap, not even close. And so for those students, and students with special needs, we have to continue trying new approaches in order to move this district into the future and to move the needle on student performance. This is one reason why I fundamentally support building the fifth ward school.
HOWEVER, there are some best practices in this district that, for whatever reason, have fallen by the wayside.
For example, prior to Horton’s tenure, we had begun a multi-year, teacher-centered deep dive into exploring and utilizing restorative discipline practices. Horton came and immediately tossed out all of our good work, for God only knows what reason. He replaced it with, literally nothing, and still called our discipline restorative, except then there were zero methods of substance even cited, let alone utilized.
Other things I miss: past, district-approved curriculums and just a smidge of educator autonomy. I’m thinking of our middle school ELA curriculum in particular, which used to be research and inquiry based, student-centered, and engaging!
I’ve written at length about this on my Substack; I’m happy to attach one of those pieces.
Another issue worth revisiting: our use of early intervention reading specialists in the primary grades instead of a more generalized, all encompassing “interventionist.” I’m not going to sit here and cite research on the benefits of early intervention when it comes to teaching reading. But a simple Google search will get you what you need.
While we’re on this subject, these interventionists should not be glorified administrators. They should be primarily STUDENT-FACING and in general way less worried about attending pointless meetings and updating spreadsheets… and way more concerned with teaching children how to read.
In these cases, and I’m sure many others, we do have an obligation to "look back” towards past practices and borrow from those more successful methodologies. Let’s not reinvent the wheel.
The truth is, we used to do some things right, and then we stopped. But when you know better, you do better.
Pat understands these nuances, and she can help us regain some of the momentum we’ve lost over these past five years.
In closing, I’ll say this. There have been times in recent years when educators have been antagonized and reprimanded by building and sometimes district leaders for harkening back to research-based past practices we used to enact here in D65.
I know one building, in particular, where educators are literally not allowed to bring up past practices that they’ve found successful, because..??
I don’t know!
Because it’s seen as demoralizing for the new leadership?? Because the leadership is insecure in their ability to lead effectively? This whole notion is completely unacceptable.
Educators are professionals. They are tired of being gaslit. It is A-OKAY for an educator to bring up an anecdote or method they used prior to Dr. Horton’s regime. Honestly, it should be encouraged. We are in the business of collaborating and problem-solving.
Rant over.
That being said, if you want to know the other candidates I’m voting for, please feel free to reach out to me either via Substack, or if you have my number or email, I’m around. I don’t mind. Just be kind.
My votes were hard choices. Can’t go wrong with most of these folks. My selections boiled down to relationships and trust.
Warmly and until next time,
Simone