Jim Collins: 2021 candidate for Elmhurst Unit District 205 board

Six candidates are running for three, 4-year terms on the Elmhurst Unit District 205 board of trustees in the April 6 election. They are incumbents Kara Caforio and Jim Collins, and challengers Athena Arvanitis, T. Marie Gall, Laurel Schrementi and Gordon Snyder.

The Daily Herald asked each candidate about issues facing the district and how they would contribute to its progress.

In-person early voting with paper ballots is now available at the 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/.

Bio

City: Elmhurst

Age: 62

Occupation: Retired, investment banking-bond trading and sales

Civic involvement: Elmhurst School Board Member since 2009, Chair of the finance committee. Former board president, vice president and secretary. Visitation Parish, former finance council member for 22 years, served on the steering committees for two capital campaigns raising over $5 million for the parish. Member of the advisory board for the newly formed Respect Elmhurst campaign.

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: Yes. Improving student achievement. District 205 and York High School have the resources and the potential to be to be ranked in the top ten in the state. We have talented and committed teachers, bright, hard working students, supportive parents and an extremely generous community. I am convinced, with the right leadership, we can achieve our potential. To achieve that potential, we must get our students back in their class rooms with their teachers - all day, five days per week.

Next, assess the learning deficit for each child due to the disruption in learning the pandemic has caused, and come up with a plan to correct that deficit.

Longer term, we must adopt the most effective instructional methods and implement the Professional Learning Communities model with fidelity. We must carefully evaluate if each student is learning, and provide the proper supports to students who need them. My observation of the most successful school districts in Illinois is there is a high correlation between high student achievement and a well implemented Professional Learning Community methodology.

Q: How would you grade the current school board on its response to the pandemic? Why?

A: Hindsight is 20/20. We did OK, but could have done better. I think the district's plan had two main flaws which were not obvious at the time, but in retrospect are clear.

First, our administration was rightfully focused on getting kids back into our classrooms and developed a two day per week in person hybrid model. They also developed a rubric that used county wide COVID infection, positivity rates, etc., to determine if our schools should be open or closed. We were one of the first districts to get kids back in school.

However, their rubric triggered our schools to close soon after they opened. Districts that did not tie their in-person learning to a rubric, stayed open and in hindsight, that was the right call. I feel the five day per week, half day, A/B model is a superior model to our two-day per week hybrid model.

Even though you can barely get to and from the grocery store while your kids are in class, kids go to school five days per week, and that is good for their mental health. Academic subjects are taught in person, and that is good for student achievement.

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: I was elected to serve my constituents and I do my best to listen to all sides of any issue, and regarding the COVID crisis, I listen to the physicians in our community. In the case of opening or closing schools, the science is aligned with our parents who want their children back in our classrooms.

Every day, parents see the mental, emotional, and social consequences of remote learning. COVID researchers note that the seasonal flu is more dangerous to children than COVID. Mayo Clinic has very recently completed a soon-to-be published COVID transmission prevention study. It shows that if both people are wearing masks, the risk of COVID transmission is equally minimal at 6 feet, 3 feet, and even one foot of social distancing. Which is far less than the risk of transmission at those distances if one or neither of the parties are wearing a mask. It clearly demonstrates, masks are highly effective in preventing transmission of the disease.

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: Again, hindsight is 20/20. Continuing to stay open even in our hybrid model, would have been a better alternative than converting to fully remote when our rubric triggered the decision. In hindsight, our rubric was not significantly positivity correlated to the risk of spreading COVID in our schools. We should have stayed open.

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: I learned closing our schools was not the right path. We are in the spring semester now and we have begun to bring our elementary students back into our buildings five days per week. Our teachers will receive their second dose of the vaccine over the next couple of weeks. Masks and social distancing will keep our students safe and the testing program we are implementing will help keep our community safe. I will continue to advocate for returning our middle schools and high school students to a full-time, in-person schedule.

It seems that our country has conducted a huge medical experiment this school year. There are kids in school full time in neighboring states, in near by public school districts, and in our own town's private schools. There has not been a mass calamity that I am aware of. School closings due to the fear of COVID seem to be most prevalent in states with powerful teachers unions. I am going to do my best to continue to advocate for more in-person time for our students. There is no reason kids can't be in school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. five days per week.

Q: What is your position on allowing high school sports to continue during the pandemic? Be specific.

A: I am in full support of allowing high school sports to continue. Obviously safety is a high priority, a testing program will help keep our kids and their families safe. For the reasons I mentioned in previous questions, we can allow our children to compete and keep them safe as well. Often the consequences of keeping our kids off the playing field are far worse than the risk and consequences of contracting COVID.