Jennifer Jendras: 2021 candidate for Glenbard High School District 87
Eight candidates are squaring off for four, 4-year seats on the Glenbard High School District 87 board in the April 6 election. Jennifer M. Jendras of Glen Ellyn is vying for a seat with fellow incumbents Robert (Bob) Friend of Lombard, Mireya Vera of Lombard, Judith Weinstock of Glen Ellyn, and newcomers Cyndi Covelli of Lombard, Nicole Dawson of Glen Ellyn, David Dejanovich of Glen Ellyn, and Kermit Eby of Lombard.
They responded to a Daily Herald questionnaire seeking their thoughts on some of the most pressing issues facing the district.
Below are Jendra's responses.
In-person early voting with paper ballots begins Feb. 25 at DuPage County Fairgrounds Building 5, 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton. In-person early voting with touch-screen voting begins March 22 at locations throughout the county. Learn more at www.dupageco.org/earlyvoting/.
Eight candidates for four, 4-year terms
Bio
Town: Glen Ellyn
Age: 51
Occupation: Occupational safety and health manager, General Services Administration, a federal agency managing all federally owned and leased properties
Civic involvement: Glenbard High School District 87 board (2013-present); 2016 co-leader, Girl Scout Troop 51016; Village of Lombard Environmental Concerns Committee (2003-12); PTA president, Glenn Westlake Middle School (2011-12)
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, and if so, what is it?
A: I first ran for election after attending a board meeting with well over 100 parents and students in attendance, when my oldest children first started high school. Parents and students were speaking out to get the school board to allow an exemption to the physical education requirement in order for student athletes and marching band members to take a different class in place of physical education. Illinois law allowed the exemption, however, local school boards had to approve it. Our school board ignored the wishes of its constituents and voted against the people they served and denied children this option. After speaking at this meeting and at the urging of another board member, I ran for school board, won, and with the help of this existing member, we changed this policy for students. As a parent of a current Glenbard freshman, my goal is always to listen to the needs expressed by student and parents, whose voices are sometimes marginalized. As a parent myself, I elevate those voices when discussing issues with the administration so that they do not go ignored. The needs of our community are diverse and limitless.
Q: How would you grade the current school board on its response to the pandemic? Why?
A: From early on in the pandemic, the CDC and the WHO stated that in-person learning was necessary and could be done safety. However, in Illinois, schools have to follow local guidelines set by the IDPH and the ISBE created in their return to school guidelines. These guidelines made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for some schools to open and operate under these conditions, especially buildings as large as the ones in Glenbard. That said, I felt the school board should have done more to persuade the school district to investigate out of the box ways to get schools to open in-person, in some form, back in August. It took the board six months to get the ability from the district to vote on our own pandemic plan. The board eventually settled on mandatory saliva testing, and I believe this gave teachers the assurance they needed to feel that in person learning was safe.
Q: How do you view your role in confronting the pandemic: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?
A: As the only parent of a Glenbard student on the school board, I was pushing for an option for in-person learning for students who desired a face-to-face learning option from the start. Families that selected remote learning as the best option for their families would always have this option available to meet their student needs. The PPE, cleaning, masking, reduced student load and distance measures the district put in place for safe in-person learning, met key recommendations stated in scientific publications that continually reiterated in-person learning for schoolchildren is necessary and can be done safely. Based on the number of students that desired the in-person option, I suggested to the administration in October to investigate our ability to combine A and B remote students to bring more students safely into the building. I wish it had not taken as long as it did to happen, but so glad the administration was willing to make it happen.
Q: Did your district continue to adequately serve students during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to continue providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.
A: The school district settled on a schedule that allows for a seamless transition from hybrid back to remote when necessary. A longer class period, shorter day block allows scheduled PM student support time and tutoring during study hall lunch times. Professional Development for teachers was increased to 5 days for teachers to work getting their curriculum geared up for hybrid and remote learning. Zoom, Class Kick musical instrument PPE, specialized instructional apps, and heart rate monitors were purchased to help facilitate better learning. Over 700 personal home visits have been made to the homes of students struggling the most. Additional supports were put in place for students designed to target four specific groups, those in special education, our English learners, students in the Directions Programs and students struggling academically. I would like to see the board more focused on the return to normalcy students are craving and how it might be possible to get there. Right now, because of the rigid in-person restrictions placed on schools over almost any other venue, students feel as if they are being punished for choosing in person learning, instead of finding their social and emotional needs met.
Q: Do you have a plan on how to safely and effectively conduct classes in the spring? What have you learned from the fall semester that you would change in the spring?
A: Our district decided on mandatory saliva testing for in person students and staff to effectively conduct in person learning for the spring semester to better retain a measured control of our leaning environment. Saliva testing was not a readily available option at the start of the fall semester. The only change I wish Glenbard had done different in the fall was to have started the first six weeks of school using the hybrid-remote model instead of opening only all-remote. By the time Glenbard transitioned to include the hybrid option, the Du Page County metrics were already starting to increase, and hybrid learning stopped after only three weeks. I think this caused many students to forgo in-person learning in the spring semester entirely and change to remote only learning. Let's face it, it's much easier to not have to get up early, and get ready to go attend school, but doing so develops assertiveness, the desire to connect with others, and dependability; the grit our students need to have in the future.
Q: What is your position on allowing high school sports to continue during the pandemic? Be specific.
A: Let's go Glenbard! Again, the decision to allow sports does not rest only on the backs of the school district. The district has to follow the directions from the ISBE, IDPH and ISHA. Another hiccup is the athletic conferences, of which some are not allowing spectators. To strip the joy from parents of seeing their children play and from their children from feeling the roar of a crowd for play well done is not right. Clubs have been playing safely with masking, attendance limitations and distancing measures for months, and again, using these safety precautions, it is proven this can be done safely so let's do it. Students rely on sports as a way to foster and develop friendships, relieve stress and get much needed exercise. Some students are talented enough to capitalize on their abilities to offset the cost of attending college. These opportunities are once in a lifetime and to see these windows of opportunity taken away from our students, while students in the vast majority of other states are capitalizing on them, is heartbreaking to me.