Masooma Razvi: 2025 candidate for Carol Stream Elementary District 93 board

Bio

Office sought: Carol Stream Elementary District 93 board (Vote for 4)

City: Carol Stream

Age: 42

Occupation: Pharmacist

Previous offices held: None

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

As a parent of a past and current student in District 93, I am interested in understanding the challenges and achievements of our school district and the decision-making process for a few years now and what really piqued my interest was my involvement in the “Portrait of a Graduate” work.

I have a science-based, research background, and as we innovate and bring a STEAM focus to our schools, I want to lend my expertise in enhancing our move in this direction. I bring a unique perspective to help ensure alignment with our “Portrait of a Graduate” and strategic plan to ensure our students are better equipped to successfully navigate school/college/career transitions through the foundation we lay in these formative years.

Areas of my interest include ensuring that we are listening to the voices of students, educators, administrators, parents and our broader community, bringing further transparency to our efforts, making data-driven decisions while maximizing our resources, addressing bullying, school safety, social media/technology and mental health challenges and that we are supporting all our students with research-backed methods to enhance their well-being and educational prospects.

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

As a school board member, I will play an essential role, in partnership with the administrators, staff, students, parents and community members, in setting our strategic goals and policies and a curriculum that aligns with our priorities for the coming years.

My strong research background and professional experience will allow me to work closely and effectively with the administrators, staff and other board members in identifying areas of strength and improvement, devise plans to address these, support the implementation, and monitor our progress while ensuring that our resources are maximized for the benefit of all our students.

I will proactively partner with stakeholders to ensure that our curriculum is set to challenge and encourage the growth of our students, support data-driven decisions and implement learnings in real-time to ensure we are meeting the desired learning objectives to promote student progress for today and their tomorrow.

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

I believe that we are a diverse and growing community with a strong appreciation for producing responsible and successful global citizens, and this was reflected in the “Portrait of a Graduate” efforts by students, educators, administrators and the broader community.

In the school board meetings that I have attended and through the broader school district communications, I see that our decisions are student-focused, we hold each other accountable on the delivery of positive outcomes for all our students and celebrate our achievements.

Some of the challenges that I noted are transitions from elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high school for students, enhancing student and staff safety and well-being, educating and addressing bullying, including on social media platforms, and maximizing our limited resources in the areas of greatest need while ensuring the greatest impact.

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?

My view on policy and curriculum matters will always be dictated by the voices of the stakeholders involved — students, staff, administrators, parents and the broader community.

Before forming my own thoughts on any particular topic and taking any action, I listen to the viewpoints of others, conduct my research, weigh the benefits and risks and the needs and desires of those involved.

In a world that is increasing focused on data-driven decisions, which is very essential, it is also key to focus on the narratives of those in the community. I intend to lead while keeping this balance in mind.

In areas of disagreement, I always seek to understand first, build relationships, work to find common ground, and communicate clearly and objectively to promote a solutions-based approach in achieving our common goal(s). I stand strongly for collectively-made decisions and am open to reassessing these based on the needs of those involved.

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.

As a health care professional, very adept in working in a global team setting to achieve common goals, with sincerity and focus on the patient, I will bring the same work ethic to my role as a school board member with a focus on ensuring the well-being and success of the students in our district.

As I mentioned previously, it is essential for me to consider various perspectives before policy decisions are made, and I intend to work transparently and encourage engagement from students, staff, administrators, parents and the broader community to ensure the public education of our students is in line with what we all value for today and tomorrow.

As someone who doesn't specifically come from an education background, I will bring a diverse and real-world perspective to the school policy decisions in our district.

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.

I believe the district and schools has made huge strides in supporting diversity and equity for our students and community. In a world that is becoming increasingly globalized, it is essential that we prepare our children for this.

Diversity and equity comes in many flavors and some of the areas the district has been focused on are offering a variety of foreign languages and cultures for students to be immersed in, a growing dual-language program, additional support and resources for our English-language learners, STEAM opportunities and career exploration, and more. I support efforts to be inclusive to all our students and community members.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I am a district mom and professional bringing a very unique skillset — a proactive listener and solutions-oriented team-player, who is bringing a fresh perspective and is vested in the success and well-being of our all students.

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

One good area of focus could be helping our kids build a holistic “success” skillset, particularly to support them better during transitions that lie ahead (move to high school/college, career, etc.).

The whole health of a child is foundational for their academic success and there are many areas of challenge that are emerging — physical and mental well-being, social interactions and relationship building, executive functioning skills, social responsibility, early career exploration, etc. Building these in early on and throughout, based on the needs identified while maximizing our limited resources can have significant impact.