Donald Tyer: 2023 candidate for Stevenson District 125 School Board

Bio

Town: Long Grove

Age on Election Day: 52

Occupation: attorney

Employer: Lake County State's Attorney's Office

Previous offices held: none

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've always looked for ways to be involved in the schools my children attend and I believe my professional experience as an educator and attorney could be a benefit to District 125. My wife's business, a veterinary clinic, is in District 125 and we have been residents in the community for the past 22 years. We are deeply committed to seeing our schools flourish in this area. As a school board member, I hope to leverage my experience and this commitment to help Stevenson continue to provide a world class education to the students in our district. I am not motivated by any particular issue.

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

A: The school board's role is to not to set or monitor curriculum, but rather to monitor the work that administrators and teachers do in this regard. There are existing systems within the administrative team to conduct ongoing evaluations of curriculum and the school board should do everything it can to see that these systems continue to function and are fully funded. As a conduit to the community at large, school board members can act as sounding boards for concerns - and they should act as connectors between community members who are concerned and parts of the administrative team that can help resolve that concern.

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

A: I have not identified or been made aware of any curricular concerns in my few months on the school board since I was appointed. I will listen carefully to the concerns of faculty, administration, students and other members of the community if any issues are raised. As a parent of 2 Stevenson students and 1 on the way, I have a vested interest in curricular offerings at the school, and as a former high school teacher - I am well versed in curricular writing, standards based teaching and how curriculum is adopted and evaluated. I will use this experience to address any concerns that I learn about.

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: My role as a school board member is to be a bridge between our community and the school's administrative team. I intend to always be available to community members to listen to their concerns and put them in front of the person or team on our administrative staff who can best address them.

When policy or curriculum concerns come up - I will always urge community members, board members and our administrative team to make sure we are all as educated as we can possibly be on these issues before we debate them. I'm not afraid of the hard work that it takes to understand complex educational policies or pedagogy.

Finally - many issues can be resolved by referring to Illinois statutes governing school policy or curriculum. As a school board member, my role will be to apply those statutes to our community concerns, not to find ways to circumvent or otherwise oppose Illinois law.

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: We have learned that as a community we can pivot and find ways to deliver education even in the most dire of circumstances. I'm proud of how my children were able to pivot to remote learning and I'm cognizant that there were unintended outcomes of staying remote for so long. We learned that children are resilient and teachers can find a way to do their jobs even from home. I've learned that we need to be transparent and respectful about our decision making when it comes to making drastic changes to protect everyone's safety ... because different people define personal safety in different ways. I believe if a new pandemic occurred - one in which folks needed to stay home again - we now have systems in place that can sustain our school system ... perhaps not for the long term, but long enough to let the healthcare system deal with the problem.

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: As an administrator in a charter school, and as a consultant and school director for private schools in the middle east, I was tasked with working with other members of my teams to develop school policies and curriculum. My style was to gather information, beginning with being honest about the things I did not know about. I set about the hard work of learning the things I didn't know - finding the data, making honest observations, and asking all the important stakeholders for their input. I think true collaboration demands self-awareness - in that I need to identify the "whys" of my choices, and then communicate that to my team. I'll be an asset to the school board because of this self-awareness and because of my willingness to ask difficult or uncomfortable questions not out of spite or defensiveness or from an agenda, but from a need to find the best solutions and practices for one of the best school districts in the nation.

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

A: I believe my professional experience as an attorney and an educator give me a unique perspective on issues that come before our school board. I've worked as counsel for school districts in my previous civil practice, I've had the opportunity to be involved in collective bargaining negotiations, student and employee disciplinary issues, and I've advised school districts on special education matters. As a teacher and administrator I've written curriculum and developed school district policies ranging from professional development and evaluation to disciplinary procedures. I've worked in schools and in different countries where I've had to confront issues of income disparity and cultural differences among students and staff. These experiences have taught me how to approach problems more holistically and to think outside the box where appropriate. I'm proud of the variety of professional experiences I've had, and I believe this will help me be an asset to the school board.

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

A: I would love to find ways to address a community concern that I've heard from several people - that is ... Stevenson does an excellent, superior job educating it's most achieving students AND its students who are most in need. Do we need to ask if we are serving the students in the middle of the bell curve to the BEST of our ability? What questions do we even ask about this issue? What metrics can we use to measure their experience? Maybe we educate this group better than any district in the country ... and maybe we could do better. I'd like to participate in a conversation about these concerns because I've heard them voiced by some parents in the community.