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Sharon Roberts: Candidate Profile

Elk Grove Township District 59 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: Mt. ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Elk Grove Township District 59 School Board Age: 58Family: Husband, Ron Roberts: Attorney, AccentureDaughter: Samantha Roberts, 23. Employed by BMO HarrisSon: Sean Roberts, 20 - Student at DePaul UniversityOccupation: Retired From AccentureEducation: B.S. Communications, SIU Carbondale, 1981MBA SIU Carbondale, 1984Civic involvement: Past Activities:Chairperson Trinity PreschoolPresident Robert Frost Parent-Teacher OrganizationFounding Member and Director: District 59 Education FoundationPADS VolunteerTreasurer: Trinity United Methodist ChurchElected 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?As a school board member I am motivated by the ongoing goal and challenge to meet every child's needs whether that be an academic, social, or emotional need. I am passionate about public education. A strong public education system is vital for a strong democracy. I believe that every student deserves the very best education that the local community can provide while living within the financial means of taxes paid by community members. Spending these tax dollars wisely to maintain strong public schools is a critical factor to maintaining home values.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 think the most important issue to understand about measuring student success is NOT thinking that student success can be measured by a single standardized test score. Our children are so much more than a test score. Having said that I do believe testing is important to help teachers guide instruction for each student. While teaching specific concepts, testing can help a teacher understand how much a student is learning. If done correctly, this information can then help guide the teacher to customize instruction for each student. This process is getting back to the basics that most school districts across the nation had in place prior to No Child Left Behind legislation. This legislation focused only on a single standardized test score. In District 59 we are also working on the best way to measure social and emotional skills in addition to academic learning. I am very excited about the focus as this supports our strategic goal of developing the whole child.Do you support moving forward with relocation of the district's administration center in Elk Grove Village, despite the project's rising costs?I am in support of updating the District 59 administration building. Just like an aging home, the time had come to decide whether to significantly remodel our existing building or build a new administration building. Because District 59 is comprised of portions of four different villages, I was in support of keeping the administration center in its current location so that it would remain more central within the district boundaries. I felt providing easier access to staff and parents was important. Given the construction costs have come in significantly higher than expected, I would very much be in favor of renovating our existing building versus spending funds on new construction.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?District 59 school boards have a long history of fiscal responsibility. As a result, we have healthy reserve funds. Our reserve funds are just like a personal savings account: we do not use them to regularly fund our annual operating budget; rather they are used to pay for one time costs that support our strategic initiatives. I do not support a tax increase or fee increases for District 59. Our financial strength allowed us to eliminate student material fees for both this year and next year.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?It is too soon to predict what an appropriate response would be if Congress approves a voucher system or giving parents broader choices. I would need to understand the details of such a law before I could make such predictions. However, I can say that I am not supportive of charter schools. Research has shown that, in general, charter schools do not perform any better than public schools. I am supportive of using local funds to support existing public schools versus creating new schools. If we have schools that are under performing then we (the school board) are responsible for identifying the cause for such under performance and must do whatever is necessary to turn things around. That often means changing the administrative leadership.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Supporting the needs of our future students is very important to me. In relation to academic performance, research on infant brains has shown that the effect of living in poverty can be detected as early as 18 months. For public school districts this means that we need to be partnering with our most vulnerable families in new ways to ensure their children are ready and prepared to start school. Every dollar spent preparing our children to be ready for school saves $8 dollars trying to catch students up to where they need to be educationally.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Tough one! It's a tie for me... Pope Francis and the Dalai LamaWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Responsibility. My parents ran a music store so from a young age after school I either worked at the store or babysat my younger brother.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I have few regrets in life but I guess instead of being a communications major in college I would major in math or computer science.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I loved math ... especially algebra and trigonometry. The general analytical skills learned in math classes helped me with every job I ever had.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Live your life with integrity