Amie F. Thompson: Candidate Profile

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: AuroraWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vote-Amie-Thompson-for-School-Board-in-West-Aurora-129/162940420390163Office sought: West Aurora D129Age: 47Family: Married to my wonderful husband Mike. Mother of four, mother-in-law of one, including two West Aurora graduates and a current sophomore and freshman.Occupation: Full time: Seventh-grade science teacher at C. F. Simmons Middle School in East Aurora 131 Part Time: Administrator for the American Museum on Natural History#146;s Seminars on Science, graduate science program.Education: Currently working on a Master#146;s in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on English Language Learners (ELL) to be conferred in 2011 from National Louis University.Master#146;s in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on School Law and School FinanceCivic involvement: Curriculum Committee, Simmons Middle School 10-11Proactive Student Attendance Team Leader 08-09Studied schools and dual language issues in Mexican Schools with a focus on applying to Aurora students through Northern Illinois University 2006Research assistant - Artic Circle studying the effects of global warming and sewage treatment effectiveness through East Carolina University 04Art teacher volunteer Aurora Christian 96-98Cub Scout Leader pack 321 91-95Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Bullying- Bullying and harassment are rampant in our school system. Victims can become depressed and suicidal or have life-long emotional scars from such abuse. The current consequences for bullying behaviors are short-term and inconsistent. There is no structure in place to support the victims of bullies. My children were tormented for years and the schools could not or would not help them. There needs to be a consistent, district-wide policy on bullying, one with mandatory consequences that include a follow ups to check if behavior is continuing and to look into the reasons that one student needed to denigrate his/her peers. We also need to supports in place for the victims, with group meetings or lunchtimes with a counselor to be sure they are on the emotional right track and that anyone with long-term needs is referred to for help. Students in general need to be educated in bullying so they can recognize and stop such behaviors and make West Aurora a good experience for all students. Key Issue 2 Parent Input-Parents that I have spoken with have a consistent complaint: having no voice in their children#146;s education. Parent input is not factored into student decisions, but too often swept under the rug. Elementary schools require parents to sign a contract, stating how long they must help with homework and how often parents must read to their children or when to take away privileges based on school behavior, as if a parent had no idea how to parent. While homework help and reading are positive behaviors, the attitude is demeaning. It treats parents as employees. I have had a teacher tell me that I signed a #147;contract#148; that I was required to follow. There is no one in the world that cares more about your child than you do. No one should presume that they know more about your child and thusly ordering parents around as if they have no say in the education of their own children is presumptuous at best and ludicrous at worst. I am not talking globally; we have PTA/PTO#146;s for that. I am talking about being listened to one on one: about your child#146;s individual needs. When she is in third grade but needs fourth grade math, when he wants to take an honors class but just didn#146;t make the cut off, when things are wrong in the educational process and your son or daughter is being adversely affected, you need a voice, a voice that counts. We don#146;t need a policy or another committee, but an entire change in attitude. Parents need a venue to file issues and to be participants in the resolution.Yes, treating 12,000 students as individuals is messy around the edges, but we have to take a step back and examine our number one priority, students. This isn#146;t a factory; we are producing individuals, with individual needs, desires and skills. They deserve to be treated that way and parents need to be respected partners not as dreaded interruptions.Key Issue 3 High School Graduation-When you go to a school activity, look at the group of children. Mentally count them off by fours. Then realize that more than one out of four (28.7%) will not graduate from high school. Will your son, your daughter be that child? When a freshman fails a class, he doesn#146;t have enough credits to become a sophomore and is considered a freshman again. There currently is no way to track what percentage of students have lost a grade-level at any given time. We only know that only 71.8% of the students who are seniors graduate. While this is well below the state average of 87.8%, we cannot begin to address it until we have a way to track students. It seems so simple to sort ID numbers or change a character so that we can sort the students that are failing and give them other options. We are working with an on line system, PLATO for credit recovery and some students are making the choice to try again. But what about those that don#146;t see a need to finish high school, what options are available for them? We need more community partnering. This is a large business community that work skills classes use for internships and vocational training to prepare all of our students for success. For the future of our children and our community, we need to turn this around.Questions Answers 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?While the bar rises for the No Child Left Behind Act by 7.5% every year, overall our test scores are above the state average. The curriculum is rigorous and my family that has graduated did well in college. I believe great work happens at District 129. When my child was in second grade at a private school, though she was very intelligent, she could not read. I moved her to McCleery Elementary School where she received Special Education services. By fifth grade she read at a high school level. In middle school she was put into honors classes and is now the editor of the high school#146;s Muses magazine and aspires to be a journalist. I do believe that the school district needs to think outside of the classroom. There are so many partnering opportunities in Aurora alone that have gone mostly untapped. The Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) is just around the corner. IMSA has an educational outreach mandate in their funding. What about some joint programs or classes? Tutoring or joint community service. We have Aurora University, Waubonsee Community College, Scitech and two other high schools in Aurora alone, not to mention Fermi Lab just down the road. IMSA students do internships in their field of interest. East Aurora has a hugely successful NJROTC program. There is a Navy Sea Cadets Corp on Sullivan Road that could really be beneficially in building knowledge and character among our students. I would like to see District 129 explore more partnering opportunities. What budget issues will the district have to confront? What measures do you support to address them? If cuts are needed, be specific about programs and expenses that should be reduced or eliminated. Do you support any tax increases for local schools?The budget crisis is a front burner issue that needs immediate attention. The state is not paying the district what it owes them and the decrease in local property values combined with a limiting rate that is frozen at 3.52% due to the referendum that was passed a few years ago add up to some serious financial decisions that need to be made in addition to a belt tightening by all. The vast majority of district expenditures are fixed expenses, such as salaries, transportation, electric, maintenance, etc. leaving us with very limited options to cut and unfortunately the #147;extras#148; tend to be the first thing to go. We need to combine where we can, repurpose structures and cut when we have to. We need the flexibility to cut clubs, lower stipends or have parents work with us to provide transportation to club events. I would like to see some of the low enrollment classes cut at the high school, but picked up by Waubonsee for those students that really wish for those opportunities. Yearbook class was combined with newspaper class this year. What other wise scheduling and logistics decisions can we make? Long term, I want to fight for more equitable funding for Illinois. According to the national finding report card, http://www.schoolfundingfairness.org/index.htm, Illinois had one of the worst systems of school funding in the nation. As we have recently had a referendum and I am truly hoping for an economic turn around and thus an increase in property values, I could only support a tax increase down the road in the direst of circumstances. Is experience as a teacher or support from a union valuable because it suggests educational insights or detrimental because it creates pro-teacher bias? Please clarify whether you have such experience or would accept union support.Of course an experienced teacher is important. A teacher makes and average of 2,000 decisions per day and they had better be good ones. Even kindergarten is not what today#146;s parents remember, there is an incredible amount of curriculum for kids that haven#146;t yet learned to sit still or tie a shoe. Teachers need to be experienced and on the cusp of in educational research, in addition to constantly honing their skills. Experienced teachers are needed to mentor their rookie peers. New situations arise constantly; in order to maximize learning a variety of skills are needed.There are necessary functions that unions perform and I would accept support if offered. Experienced, dedicated educators need to be protected. Today#146;s caring teachers spend hundreds out of their own pockets every year for other people#146;s children. Things that other professions routinely have provided for them many teachers must provide themselves, from the posters on the wall, to math manipulatives, science materials, a class library, and many office supplies. Unions protect caring and experienced educators from being swept away with every change in administration and make sure their salaries are closer to other educated professionals. The problem with unions is their unwillingness to rid the profession of incompetent or lackadaisical teachers. When people have a downgraded opinion of teachers, it is these poor examples that they hold up. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher and the union needs to work with parents and district to make provision for the quick exit of inferior staff. The educational community must hold itself accountable. As contract talks come up with various employee groups, what posture should the board take? Do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?Again, we are all in the same financial boat and it#146;s leaking. The focus has thus far been on no loss of jobs; therefore before we can offer monetary gains we must be in the position to maintain that increased level of funding. Currently, West Aurora#146;s teachers earn almost 14,000 more than the average for teachers in Illinois, so hopefully that gives us enough room until finances improve. We need the unions to work with us, being conscious of budgetary limitations. As with all negotiations, there should be balance not only give but take.If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?I don#146;t feel that I could vote for an increase in good conscience as it takes money away from our children. We should pay for good people, but to artificially raise a salary does not seem like a wise fiscal practice nor does it set a good precedent for his/her successor.