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Daniel Helderle: Candidate Profile

Lisle Unit District 202 School Board

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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:BioQA Bio City: LisleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lisle Unit District 202 School Board Age: 48Family: Spouse - Sharon Marth Helderle, Children - Rosen (1st Grade at Tate Woods Elementary School), Lila (Gentle Learning Preschool at the Lisle Park District)Occupation: Software Development Project ManagerEducation: - B.S. in Computer Science, Minor in Business Administration, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, 1991. - Project Management Institute, Project Manager Profession (PMP) Certification, 2005Civic involvement: - Treasurer of Fox Ridge Creek Homeowners Association 2003- President of Fox Ridge Creek Homeowners Association 2004- Tuition sponsor of a student at Horizons for Youth, a non-profit scholarship and mentoring agency in Chicago that focuses on children from low resource areas of Chicago to graduate high school, attend college and obtain a rewarding career. 99.9% of the students in this program have graduated high school in its 25 year history. (http://horizons-for-youth.org/)- Lisle Vision 202, Chapter Facilitating Team member- Eagle ScoutElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?Both my wife's family and my family were raised in Lisle. My family is vested in Lisle; we are here for the long-haul. After participating in the Vision 202 Chapter 1 and being a Facilitating Team member for Chapter 2, I was inspired to become more active in my community and I believe it is the right time. My skills in leading projects and managing budgets over 1 million dollars annually the last 15 years would be a good addition to the school board; especially, given a 39 million dollar project to build a new school. From a taxpayer perspective, this MUST be done on time and on budget. But this is more about a new school; it is about creating an enriching and successful educational experience for the full 13 year journey our children have from Pre-K to 12th grade. Higher test scores and graduates having successful careers after they leave the Lisle school system would be measurements of the success of our school system. Teachers are the single most important influence on a student's success and we must give them the right tools. We must give our children a 21st century learning experience. A modern grade school would be a good tool to have in order to build a solid foundation for more successful junior high students who in turn can become successful high school students. The new school would be one part of a multi-prong strategy to raise our ACT (SAT equivalent in future) consistently above 23.What do you think about the process for measuring student success in your district? Is it adequate? What changes, if any, do you propose?I've attended almost all board meetings since July 2016. Student success is measured primarily on MAP, PARCC and ACT/SAT which are mandated tools. The material presented in board meetings provided a lot of data on student results and predicted student achievement. I believe the school administrators and teachers are using that data. During the January 2017 board meeting, school improvement goals were presented; effectively, mid-year. As a change, I would propose we must go into 2017-2018 school year with a plan on raising test scores solidly established at the beginning of the school year. This means the plan is well communicated and socialized amongst school board, administrators, teachers and parents. All stakeholders need to be lock-in-step with this plan so that our children succeed.I very much like the Continuous Improvement Framework (CIF). I would propose revisiting it as it was last updated in 2015 and ensure the 2017-2018 goals and plans on achieving these goals are in-line with the CIF.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?Like in all teams, team members have specific roles and expected areas of contribution. School boards are made up of average citizens that have varying depths of knowledge on how to educate children. As a school board member without professional experience in curriculum designing, I would rely on the school administrators to present curriculums and show evidence that they were designed with education best practices in mind. This is no different than when I run projects and part of the solution is built with a technology I have less understanding. I ask the developers to prove they are using the right techniques and in turn they educate me. I would learn from our professional educators on what makes a good curriculum. The curriculum MUST be in sync with the student improvement goals as mentioned in a prior question on this survey.What budget issues will your district have to confront and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax or fee increases?To our school district's credit, we have had good financial stewardship as evidenced by our Standard and Poor's Aa2 rating. However, an analysis should be done on our cost per student to find ways in reducing this cost or at a minimum identify factors that prohibit reduction. If this analysis has been done, it should be reflected in the levy increase currently being considered.Any tax or fee increases should be justified and the justification communicated well to the tax payers. The current board is assessing an increase in the tax levy. Any increase above inflation should be discussed and documented for why the increase is required and in which areas of the budget are causing the increase. Additionally, it should be documented why cuts in areas of the budget could not be done.The greatest risk to our financial health would be the building of the new school and any resulting rise in the annual costs to run the school district. Not building a new school also carries a risk in raising the annual costs to run the school district and repair and maintenance costs for our aging schools will rise. In the case of the new school, solid project management and oversight practices must be in place and closely monitored by the school board and administration. Multiple monthly school board meetings during construction will be needed so that course corrections can be reviewed, approved and implemented in a timely manner.What role can and should school choice play in your district? If Congress or the state approves a voucher system or other means giving students broader choices among public and private schools, how will that affect your district? What is the appropriate response for the board of education of a public school system?The public school system has been, is and will be a cornerstone of America's success. Should a competing option come into play, the school board and administration must assess why families would be attracted to the competition and implement plans to counter the competition and make our school system the first choice.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Our school district must embrace modern communication techniques. Ensuring messages get to the right audience in a timely manner is critical regardless of the mix of board members, administrators, teachers, tax payers, students, etc. targeted. Modernizing our web and mobile presence is critical for improving communication and increasing transparency.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope FrancisWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Honesty and loyalty. Never lie to your parents; it never ends well.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Another round of golf with my Dad.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Programming during lunch period at the Lisle Junior High with Mrs. Zarn. It taught me fundamentals I still use today in my career in IT.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Have courage and be kind (Cinderella, 2015)