How has Indian Prairie handled the COVID-19 pandemic? School board candidates weigh in

While several candidates seeking a seat on the Indian Prairie school board say they largely support District 204's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, some remain critical of the administration's communication, leadership and implementation of learning plans.

Incumbents Laurie Donahue and Susan Taylor-Demming, both of Naperville, are vying to retain two of the four 4-year terms open on the school board. They are facing nine challengers in the April 6 election, including Saba Haider of Aurora and Naperville residents Shannon Adcock, Allison Fosdick, Robert Harris, Supna Jain, Marina Kosak, Yanmei May Liang, Rajesh Narayan and Kader Sakkaria.

In responses provided through Daily Herald questionnaires, many candidates defended the district's decisions over the last year and the metrics it followed to reopen schools for in-person learning.

Since schools shut down at the onset of the pandemic last spring, the district did its best to prioritize safety while ensuring the least amount of disruptions to students' academic schedules, said Jain, 43, a North Central College professor and speaking center director. Unlike other school systems, District 204 avoided having to shift back and forth between in-person and remote learning in the fall, she said, noting the most turbulent transition was when students moved to a hybrid model in January.

Harris, a program director and assistant professor at Lewis University, called the concept of reopening schools during a pandemic an "unprecedented global medical, social, economic and political issue." While not every family and student has been pleased, he said, "the 204 board made difficult decisions under extraordinary circumstances."

Donahue and Taylor-Demming can attest to that, they say, each pointing to the hours they spent conducting research, consulting with experts, visiting schools and implementing various safety measures.

Even before the pandemic, District 204 instituted a plan to replace snow days with remote learning days by providing technology to each student - a fortuitous step that helped to ease the transition, said Taylor-Demming, 61, the director of leadership giving for Elgin Community College.

Donahue, 63, who is retired, said the district took extra steps to prioritize vulnerable populations, pointing to expanded in-person opportunities offered in the fall to special needs students and those struggling in the remote learning environment.

While the solutions provided by school leaders adequately served some students, others were placed into situations that did not address their needs, said Fosdick, 43, an English professor at Aurora University. She said she believes the "room and Zoom" concept - where teachers instruct students simultaneously in the classroom and remotely - is a disservice to both groups of children, as well as the educators.

Still, she gave the district the benefit of the doubt in handling unprecedented circumstances, as did Haider, a 37-year-old health and wellness expert and business owner.

"There were no instructions on how to lead the district through a pandemic," Haider said, yet officials were still able to swiftly move online and continue providing crucial services, such as free meals to children who may be experiencing food insecurity.

As a public health nurse in Will County, 52-year-old May Liang said she supports the district's science-based metrics but believes "the current timetable for reopening schools can be improved." Social isolation has caused "tremendous mental stress" among students and families, she said, and the impact of remote learning has been uneven based on personal circumstances.

If Adcock had to grade the current board's handling of the pandemic, she said, she would give poor marks with "much improvement needed." Revoking the choice of in-person learning at the beginning of the year was "incredibly misguided and shows poor governing skills," the 41-year-old photography studio owner said, adding she does not believe board members have asked the tough questions.

Communication and transparency are key issues for Sakkaria, 50, chief technology officer at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, who says the board and administration should have been more forward with providing information about the mechanics of their plans. For special needs students like his son, he said, instructions on how to maintain therapy appointments and access other services in a remote setting were unclear, causing them to lose out on critical help.

Though typically viewed as a trendsetter, District 204 has "lowered the bar on what they have settled for" when it comes to navigating the pandemic, said Kosak, 51, a dean at Oswego East High School. She believes more creative solutions should have been explored to meet the needs of all students, provide a more equitable remote option and offer additional "live" instructional time.

An entrepreneur who founded an IT company, Narayan said he understands all sides of the issue: students are getting "suboptimal education" in an environment that affects their mental health, parents are facing various hardships, and educators are concerned about their safety.

He believes hybrid learning is the "balanced ground where we can have a win-win situation for all," he said. "Everybody is right from their perspectives. There are no easy answers."