Aurora Austriaco: Candidate Profile

Back to Maine Township High School District 207 School Board

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: Park RidgeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Maine Township High School District 207 School Board Age: 52Family: I have been married for 23 years to Dr. Jerome Austriaco. We have two daughters, ages 20 yrs old and 17 yrs old. Our 20 year old daughter, Danielle is currently in her third year in college and our 17 year old, Isabelle is currently a senior in high school.I come from a family of eight children, 6 girls and two boys all of whom are married with children. My Mom was a nurse and my Dad was a salesman. Both worked full time while raising eight kids at the same time. Both my parents passed away in 2014.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: I went to DePaul University College of Commerce and graduated with a B.S. in Finance. Immediately thereafter, I went to law school at DePaul College of Law and finished with my juris doctor. I have been practicing law for 25 years.I am also a certified mediator and took a course in Finance for Executives at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.Civic involvement: -Member, District 207 Superintendent Community Advisory Council-Board Member and Past President, Maine South Hawkette Booster Board-Community Board Member, Presence Health-Past Commissioner, Park Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission-Past Board Member, Park Ridge Juniors-Past President, Chicago Bar Association-Commissioner, Illinois Courts Commission-Board Member, Asian American Coalition of ChicagoElected 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?In today's competitive landscape, locally, nationally and internationally, I believe that providing a good education for our children will equip them with the proper tools, the knowledge base and the skills necessary to compete in any field they choose. The education should start early on and should be a continuing process. I believe that getting a good education in high school prepares them for college and/or trade school so that they can be competitive as well as be productive members of society. I am running for the school board because I would like to work with the school and the community to ensure that District 207 students continue to receive the excellent education that they deserve. I have two daughters - one already in college who graduated from the District 207 system and I have another one who will be graduating this year from Maine South. Maine Township District 207 is one of the most diverse public high schools and was just named one of the most innovative districts in the country. I would like to serve on the school board to ensure that we continue to provide excellent education to the D207 students and that we continue to be innovative in our teaching system so that students continue to be competitive.What do you think about the process for measuring student success in your district? Is it adequate? What changes, if any, do you propose?If the question is on how ready D207 students are for college, as a District, our D207 graduates are outperforming students from the rest of the country by at least 19% and this number may actually be higher still. Our students'college graduation statistic continues on its upward tick each year and certainly the percentage of college graduating students is a good measure of how successful the district has been in ensuring D207 students' success. In addition, District 207 has a "Core 15" partnership with Oakton Community College with the goal of allowing D207 high school students to obtain at least 15 college credits before leaving high school. Again, this helps D207 students to be more college ready.In terms of changes, I think the District is on the right track. It should incorporate more experiential learning courses for students; it should support the National "Redefining Ready" measures that look at more college course completion in high school, more career and technical education completion along with the traditional measures of test scores and GPA for the most reliable measure of a school's graduates' college readiness.Do you support the district's proposed "Hybrid 4" schedule that would increase classroom time for most classes by 17 minutes each week, though it would cut times for science classes?I believe the hybrid schedule will allow the students to spend more time in the classroom learning and reduces the time spent in passing periods. It also provides time for students and counseling staff to meet without pulling students out of class, which occurs too frequently. This schedule also provides much better student and staff support while offering cost saving opportunities through reduced substitute teacher costs.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?First of all, the fact that the state does not have a budget is an issue regardless of school area in the Chicagoland area. Since there is a limitation on state funding, I believe that the District and school board properly focused on economic efficiency in order to prepare for the unforeseen, i.e. the unreasonably long length of time it will it take for the State to pass a budget without compromising the quality of education. The District has also taken steps to reduce its fees spent per student across the board, which is opposite what is trending now. For instance, the next closest CSL district spending is $2,464/ student and the highest district spending is $4,096 per student. As a matter of fact, District 207 has the lowest operating cost per student which is less than the $2464 per student.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?As mentioned earlier, Maine Township High School District 207 is one of the most diverse public high schools and I believe that it is the Board's job to ensure that this is the case. It was also named one of America's 14 most innovative districts, most likely the only district in the US with annual coaching plans for every teacher, one of the very few with ongoing research into its teaching practices and one of the best college and career counseling models in the nation. District 207 continues to do work that insures the very best outcomes for District 207 students and the District is able to do this with taxpayer money it receives.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Candidate did not respond.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.President Barack ObamaWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?We didn't have much growing up but we were taught "there are no short cuts in life and you work hard to reach your goal."If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would probably spend more quality time with my parents who passed away a few years ago, more than the usual time thatI did.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I enjoyed Science and writing. But I truly believe all my classes helped shape me but writing helped a lot especially as a lawyer.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Do your very best in everything that you do and read the poem "What is Success?"