Steven Rosenblum: 2023 candidate for Township High School District 211 Board of Education

Bio

Town: Schaumburg

Age on Election Day: 60

Occupation: Human Resources consultant

Employer: Salo Consulting LLC

Previous offices held: Township High School District 211 Board of Education vice president and member

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: I am running to retain my seat on the Township High School District 211 Board of Education to continue the privilege of representing everyone in the community and keeping our district one of the best in the area through fiscal responsibility, sound policy decision-making and support for our students, programs and professionals.

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

A: The board of education is responsible for reviewing and approving recommended curriculum updates and changes. While there are processes and great lengths of review that go into the identification and selection of curriculum for our schools, I believe such decisions for inclusion or exclusion recommendations are best made by our highly educated teaching staff - those who have the expertise and leadership responsibilities for this. Recommendations requiring board of education action are summarized and provided to the members. Once recommended with supporting information, the board of education can make an educated decision to approve them.

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

A: Not at this time.

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: As a fellow-constituent and school board member, I will seek out and listen to all parts of our district community for experiences, expertise, perspectives and interests regarding policy or curriculum controversial issues. I seek out and listen to students, residents, parents, legislators, law enforcement officials, business owners, teachers and staff on several controversial issues since joining the district board of education in 2017 and onward. In fact, when I became a board member in 2017, we were experiencing many such conversations, listening sessions and other forms of information gathering around the passage of policies related to such controversies as equal rights and access for students regardless of their gender identity, COVID protocols, student test scores, how to use school finance reserves, sex ed curriculum, and others, and I will continue to do so.

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 a great deal through the COVID-19 pandemic concerning safety, in-person learning and the impact these have on our students and learning community. The safety of our students, staff and community is of the utmost importance. Some of the things we have learned include challenges and methods associated to remote or limited in-person learning and benefits of a very high level of communication to everyone involved. Some students learned well in a remote setting, while others did not. We need to keep this in mind when making decisions associated to how best to handle such an outbreak of infectious diseases, should it occur again.

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 been a member of the District 211 school board for the past 5/1-2 years during which time I worked together with other school board members, administrators and staff, interacting with and listening to staff, student and constituents and serving as a leader in our community and schools. I think working collaboratively as a school board is most effective and allows us to bring each other's perspectives, backgrounds and experiences into discussions and determining policy. Although we may not always agree on our individual thoughts and decisions, we should listen to each other to understand them and reach agreement as a board with a common purpose of supporting our mission and values as a district and supporting the decisions we make as a group.

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

A: I am dedicated to listening to and serving all residents in the district as a member of the board and believe I have the passion, background and firsthand experience to continue doing this well. I've been very involved, working with other board members, district administrators and staff to fulfill our responsibilities.

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

A: Like most school districts and businesses across our country, our district is short-staffed and experiencing challenges in attracting and retaining teachers. I would like to design and implement a couple of new things to recruit teachers to our district. 1.) An employee referral bonus program that would reward current staff for referring qualified teachers who are hired by our district and stay on staff for a minimal amount of time. 2.) A program that would identify and encourage District 211 students to become teachers and mentor/guide them through their educational experiences in college in support of their applying for and returning to our schools as educators.