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Andrew Giggey: Candidate Profile

Elgin-Area Unit 46 School Board (4-year Terms)

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: streamwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Elgin-Area Unit 46 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 18Family: Live with my mother. Two older sisters both living on their own, both graduates from different U-46 high schools; one a Ph.D student at UCLA, and the other a Registered Nurse.Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: BEACON academy at South Elgin High School, class of 2013.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To give students more representation in curriculum decisions by bringing fresh perspectives to the board, by using an "inside-out" rationale rather than "outside-in".Key Issue 2 Reform and Implement new uses for technology in classrooms.Key Issue 3 Stress importance of elementary education, work on uniform writing skills.Questions Answers With the racial discrimination lawsuit set to wrap up as early as February, do you think the district needs to do anything differently when it comes to addressing diversity in and among the schools?Proximity to a certain school from a student's home should be considered, unless a program exists at another school that is essential to a students success.What do you think about the district's response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School? How is the district on safety, more generally?Pretty safe, continue the use of school resource officers in schools and have building administration review each threat actively. Have every staff member go though and complete CPI training. Biggest threat in High Schools today is drug use. Continue with the goal of bringing down suspensions by 15% each year.What do you think about the district's progress in getting more students to take AP classes and succeed on AP exams? Do you think it's a good strategy to urge more students into those types of classes?No, as a student who has been in AP classes this has downgraded the leaning process. It's great that we're trying to get kids on an advanced learning track, but need to do that without holding the high achieving students back. The level of individual thinking has disappeared and AP level classes feel like regular classes at times.What do you think about the shift to the common core standards? How big a role do you think the board of education should play in setting the curriculum for students and what ideas do you have for changes to the current curriculum?Each building is different, and should be treated as such. If a one size fits all plan was the answer we would have figured it out a long time ago. The common core standards should be used as an additional resource for teachers, but ultimately the teachers are the ones in the classroom, and need to have the flexibility to not get stuck in the "trenches". The board of education should build the foundation and then support the teachers with implementation.How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?We need to make sure kids know college is not the only option. Instead, teach the students they will need to work hard post high school-- if that's employment or school--they need to continue that work ethic. According to recent numbers in our state, there is a skilled worker shortage. CTE and PLTW are great programs that our district is utilizing, to prepare students for possible post education or skilled worker employment.