Nicole Slowinski: 2025 candidate for Elmhurst Unit District 205 board

Bio

Office Sought: Elmhurst Unit District 205 board (Vote for 3)

City: Elmhurst

Age: 46

Occupation: Executive vice president of talent experience & development

Previous offices held: None

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I strongly believe in the value of education and the importance of giving back to your community. I have spent years involved at all levels of the Emerson PTA, active member of Churchville PTA and was a member of the Churchville Community Committee (to enhance the learning environment and connection between students, staff, families, and community members).

With a background in education and a career in Talent Development, education has always been a big part of my personal and professional life. I am currently the executive vice president of talent experience and development which has responsibilities including talent and performance management, organizational effectiveness, engagement, and intern and early programs.

I am running for the school board because I wholeheartedly agree with our mission of preparing students for college, career and life. To that end, my motivations are to ensure students have access to resources they need, we are good stewards of the community resources invested within our schools -- maximizing value for students/schools/Elmhurst, and we continue to advance excellence in our academics.

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

Administration brings forth curriculum recommendations to the board for approval and monitoring. Those recommendations are determined based on input from experts within departments and must meet Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) standards.

While the school board does not create the curriculum, they are responsible for ensuring students receive high-quality education. This is done through multiple approaches, including: 1.) hiring and holding the superintendent and administration accountable; 2.) developing effective policies; 3.) approving financial expenditures and planning for financial stability; 4.) adopting new initiatives that move the district forward, and 5.) representing the voice of the community.

Related to monitoring the curriculum, the school board can accomplish the above by requesting frequent updates, exploring root causes for success and opportunities, analyzing data, and ensuring we are using this information to inform our curriculum, related financial investments and policies, as well as determine its effectiveness.

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

Each year at Curriculum Night, District 205 schools present an overview of their curriculum that provides insights into why it was chosen and/or why adjustments have occurred. As mentioned in a previous question, the curriculum must meet the ISBE standards.

Additionally, on the Elmhurst 205 webpage, curriculum information can be found for most grade levels. For my two stepchildren (York graduates), I feel that the curriculum appropriately prepared them for college, career, and life both academically and personally.

For my two children who are currently in middle and elementary school, I do not have strong concerns about the curriculum at this point. I do however believe that we need to make a concerted effort to monitor our curriculums through data and anecdotal feedback to ensure it is achieving the intended outcomes.

I also believe that curriculum changes should always be supported by a holistic implementation approach that considers all stakeholders’ (students, teachers, staff, parents, and caretakers) needs and a comprehensive communication plan.

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?

Working in human resources for nearly 20 years has prepared me well for confronting various controversies and conflicts which may arise if I am elected to the school board. When confronting controversies related to policy or curriculum, the board members must balance input from all stakeholders, including state authorities, parents/caretakers, teachers/staff, students, and the community at large.

Leadership in these instances means clearly understanding goals, adhering to regulations, gathering diverse feedback (through quantitative and qualitative means), and identifying aligned solutions with clear success metrics.

I believe in fostering open dialogue and seeking to understand others’ perspectives, even with opposing views, while ensuring transparency and engagement throughout the process. Throughout my professional career and personal experience, I have seen that this approach builds buy-in, encourages respectful debate, and leads to effective, collaborative solutions that serve the best interests of all.

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

The vast majority of my professional career has been within multiple facets of human resources supporting two large organizations. Within HR, you are often in the role of understanding, implementing, interpreting, and holding employees accountable to policies.

To do so, you must be able to balance multiple perspectives, identify potential risks, and monitor outcomes of those policies. I have approached this through ensuring that key stakeholders' views are represented throughout each stage of policy creation and implementation, by effective listening, facilitating collaborative discussions, and leveraging shared goals and data to drive decisions.

I am confident in my ability to be effective at this on the school board as I have successfully demonstrated this throughout my career and participation in other leadership roles/teams.

What is your assessment of the school district's diversity and equity efforts? Do you support the continuation or enhancement of such programs, or would you rather see them diminished. Please explain your reasoning.

Often Diversity and Equity efforts get over-simplified to a focus solely on race and ethnicity. In short, DEI is intended to promote fair treatment of all and to create an effective environment where people e.g., students, teachers, staff from all backgrounds can thrive.

Some examples of efforts that support diversity and equity within District 205 include Transition program, Multilingual program, Special Education Resource Group and Education programs, REACH, Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee, Special Olympics programs, McKinney-Vento Homeless program, facility updates making our schools more accessible, language translate option on our website, as well as ensuring inclusive approaches and language are represented throughout key policies, handbooks, etc.

We have multiple programs, resources, and processes in place which are making meaningful progress. I support the continuation of these efforts to ensure that all students, teachers, and staff have the opportunity to thrive in an inclusive and supporting environment.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

Like many of the other candidates, I have been deeply involved in our community and a volunteer within our school district. What I believe sets me apart is my professional experiences.

While I have had involvement in many aspects of education including an undergraduate degree in education, roles as an adjunct professor, as well as leading internships and early careers programs, the vast majority of my career has been within human resources, specifically in the areas of talent management, learning & development, strategic HR business partner, leadership development, engagement, and organizational development.

These roles have given me years of experience in creating and executing people strategies, effectively listening to the needs of large populations of people, negotiating, respectfully challenging others, developing teams in service of achieving shared goals, dealing with personnel issues, as well as assessing, improving, supporting, and holding others accountable for high performance.

I believe these are all unique skill sets that I can bring to the board to help us carry out our district’s strategic plan in a way that is collaborative, solution-focused, and effective.

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

While I am aware we more recently added a Parent Advisory Committee, I would like to consider broadening the scope to include community members and teachers/staff.

So many decisions that are made impact a wide range of stakeholders throughout our community and I would like to see a formal way to engage those groups so we can better understand their perspectives. This could be helpful in testing communications, identifying risks, proactively determining unintended consequences of decisions, and gathering qualitative feedback.