Cathy Dremel: 2023 candidate for Batavia Unit District 101 school board

Bio

Town: Batavia

Age on Election Day: 55

Occupation: Teacher

Employer: St. Charles East High School

Previous offices held: Batavia Unit District 101 school board since 2011

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?

A: I am running for reelection because I don't think there is anything more important to a society than its educational system. Batavia has an amazing school district full of wonderful employees and caring families. Our community has always supported education and I have loved the work I've had a chance to do over the past 12 years and hope the citizens of Batavia allow me to continue this very meaningful work.

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

A: The school board is responsible for governance which includes ensuring that BPS101 follows state standards. In Batavia we have a long history of working collaboratively with our teachers to ensure that our curriculum is challenging, provides educational equity and is vertically aligned K-12. The most important role of the school board is to ensure those goals are being met by providing support and resources for those systems of collaboration while also holding them accountable to meet the goals that have been set. School board members need to support and respect the experts in the district while using data to monitor that every student is receiving a guaranteed and viable curriculum.

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

A: No.

Q: 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?

A: I think all of the above approaches are part of good leadership. We should always give constituents a voice, even if we end up taking action in a different direction. While there are times we need to defer to state authorities, the most important thing is for us to provide leadership even if that leadership proves to be very unpopular with some community members. With any controversies, we need to make choices with a view to providing all students with the best opportunities, and do individually problem solving with any student or family who doesn't feel well served by our policies.

Q: Concerns are growing regarding a new resurgence of the pandemic. If another massive outbreak of infectious disease occurs, what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that will guide your decision making?

A: I would continue to support following the Kane County Health Department's directives as we did during the pandemic, but I would be a stronger voice questioning them for proof that mitigations are informed by science and data. I will fight tooth and nail to keep kids physically in school because we now know that many of the choices made during the pandemic harmed our most vulnerable society members, our children.

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

A: My style is to ensure that every member of the group has had a chance to share their voice. I am experienced in facilitating meetings and encouraging all people to discuss, question, grapple with the issues and then come to consensus. Batavia's school board has historically been a place where conversations are lively but respectful, and all viewpoints are listened to and discussed before coming to consensus. We never leave a discussion just because a majority has arrived at a certain viewpoint. We continue digging deep until we are confident all viewpoints and all ideas have been explored.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: I have 12 years of experience and I am knowledgeable but also teachable. My work on the school board led me to become an educator 6 years ago so I have experience on both the administrative side and in the classroom. I am respectful and a good listener, but willing to fight passionately to give our students the best opportunities. I also have an MBA and prior to being a teacher, I was in the business world and have a wealth of financial and management experience.

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

A: In terms of educational equity, we talk a lot about students that are struggling. And I think it is extremely important to dig deeply and see what isn't working for students. What we aren't talking about is working with students that have had successful experiences in our district and seeing how we can learn from them and apply those experiences to help other students create their own success stories.