Samreen Khan: 2023 candidate for Elgin Area School District U-46 board

Bio

Town: Bartlett

Age on Election Day: 44

Occupation: Government consultant

Employer: State of Illinois

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

Q: Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

A: Coming from a family who has valued public education, and a product of public education, I hold this human right our country provides to its highest value.

As the daughter of a professor of biology, who taught in public universities and colleges for over 45 years, I strongly value the opportunity of education for all. I decided to run for the U-46 school board after navigating district policies and programs for my child, who had received Early Intervention at home.

As a single-mother, I was thrilled to have access to the amazing Pre-K programs for my son at U-46.

As a board member, I will ensure that our teachers and staff are supported, while being held to the highest standards. I will make the success of our students my number one priority.

I will be an advocate for students and will work to guarantee that they graduate with the skills needed to be successful in life and contributing members of society.

Q: What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring curriculum?

A: The school board plays a crucial role in setting and monitoring the curriculum. The school board is responsible for setting education policy and guidelines subject to state and federal laws and regulations.

While ISBE's Standard and Instruction Department determines milestones for academic achievement, the Teaching and Learning Department at U-46 is charged with adopting state standards and developing curriculum presenting to the board for approval.

The board has the authority to approve or amend the curriculum that is based on best practices and research driven. To ensure the curriculum is meeting the needs of students and making progress toward academic goals, the board should evaluate progress from reviewing student test scores and other data to determine if the curriculum is meeting the standards.

This being said, it is critical to be inclusive of teacher's voices, experience in the classrooms, and ensuring they are involved in any curriculum development and approval.

Q: Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

A: Noting the transition back to classroom learning post-pandemic may have been challenging for students, it is important to find innovative ways to encourage that re-engagement.

The latest School Report Card shows a slight decrease in math and science achievement in the district pre pandemic vs post pandemic. I would like to learn how the board can support staff and teachers in the classrooms to address these overall achievement gaps.

Q: How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

A: In confronting policy or curriculum controversies, it is pertinent to first follow a brief process of elimination to understand jurisdictional capacity. If the policy or curriculum does not lie under Illinois State Board of Education authority and is deferred to regional school boards to address, it is critical to listen to constituent comments while studying precedence in the matter.

The board is guided to provide leadership, ensuring student safety for any policy or curriculum controversy. It is critical for the board to uphold student success and education to provide a safe platform for constituents to raise questions and concerns.

Moreover, it is critical to build collaborative relationships and partnerships with families and community, business, nonprofit, higher-education, education support organizations, and governmental leaders, to influence and expand educational opportunities and experiences to meet the needs of students.

Q: Concerns are growing regarding a new resurgence of the pandemic. If another massive outbreak of infectious disease occurs, what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that will guide your decision making?

A: We have learned to rely on the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health to help guide schools in the event of a public health disaster. If jurisdiction is granted to regional school boards and municipalities to manage the situation, it is critical to form a collective decision to mitigate the spread and control future diseases based on best practices and public health guidelines.

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions of your school board.

A: I have 20 years of experience working in multiple group settings to create and implement policy. When I served as the governor's surrogate in Illinois, I collaborated with a variety of stakeholders including federal, state, and local elected officials, community leaders, and individual constituents.

When leading and coordinating discourse especially as it related to policy, I found it instrumental to remain neutral and provide a safe platform for all voices to be heard.

Encouraging continuous stakeholder engagement and community outreach will be a priority for me on the school board from coordinating focus groups, surveys, and in-person meetings. It has been my experience that the most effective policies are the ones in which the community experiences a direct beneficial impact from and has been a part of in developing.

As for elected officials it is imperative to maintain open lines of communication with the community in order to ensure the best policy decisions.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: My son attends U-46 schools and as a taxpayer in this district, I am greatly invested in serving on the board in order to preserve and improve the quality of education for our children.

Moreover, from my experience both as a government liaison and subsequently as a private consultant, I understand the importance of building relationships with private and public sector stakeholders. I also understand the importance of ensuring that policy recommendations are data driven and take into account stakeholder concerns.

I have extensive experience working with budgets and program management, and look forward to contributing to a collaborative environment that will yield greater academic excellence for all of our students. I believe the importance of creating collaborative relationships and partnerships to influence and expand educational opportunities and experiences to meet the needs of students in U-46.

Q: What's one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

A: I would like to study academic achievement and graduation rates from all income levels and schools across the district. It is my duty as a board member to ensure that every student is granted the same quality of education and resources across the district, and I will be an advocate for those students and teachers.

Findings should be data driven to understand which schools low-income communities are attending and examine: rate of graduation, test scores, attendance rate, and teacher to student ration in classrooms comparing this data to schools across the district.

If a correlation is present between low-income population and not, I would like to understand what support and services the teachers and students need to experience a comprehensive academic experience. If data suggests there is no correlation of disparity in classrooms/education, it is the responsibility for board members to sit in classrooms to understand challenges in the classroom to support our teachers.