Alex Kamilewicz: 2023 candidate for Glenview Community Consolidated School District 34 school board

Bio

Town: Glenview

Age on Election Day: 49

Occupation: Project management

Employer: AbbVie

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 am interested in serving on the District 34 Board of Education primarily because I believe strongly in the value of a good K-8 education. It is my opinion that one of the best investments a society can make is in the

education of its children, which includes not only academic learning, but social and emotional learning and

finding one's place in society. I would like to continue to be a part, in a different way than I have in the past,

of helping District 34 deliver on this promise to our children and community.

If there is a specific issue that motivates me for this role, it is to help the District as a whole return to some

sort of normality, after several years of pandemic and referendum-then-construction challenges. It may not

be the normality of a few years ago, but we should try to define and find it, so that everyone involved in the

District can get back, 100%, to doing what they do best - educating our children.

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

A: The board of education provides oversight for the running of the school district mainly through engagement with its leadership, and especially the Superintendent, for which the BOE is primarily responsible for hiring and, as necessary, letting go. The BOE also has a responsibility to assess issues put in front of the district and also to seek out and address feedback from any and all District stakeholders. In all of this, the BOE should seek feedback on whether curriculum is meeting the needs of students and ensure that challenges with curriculum are effectively addressed by District 34 administration and teaching staff.

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

A: In general, District 34's curriculum is rich in learning content, appropriate, and drives good outcomes. If there was an addition I would recommend, it would be, based on my family's recent experience, to do more at the middle school level to prepare students for the realities of life at Glenbrook South (e.g. learning how to be fully accountable for their work, learning how to plan out their study over long time periods, etc…).

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: The correct answer for a Board of Education is to do all three: seek out and listen to all stakeholders, understand guidance set down by the state and other authorities, and then provide leadership, even if unpopular.

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: One of the lessons I hope the district can learn from the pandemic has to do with its style and method of communication with the community. While I recognize that guidance from overseeing public health organizations was often incomplete, late, and/or vague, the district could probably have benefited from, at times, a more direct and clear explanation of its choices and the rationale for its choices, as well as being clear about how and when choices might be revised.

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 career involves significant work gathering a diverse set of people together and finding solutions that work for everyone, even with compromises. My style is to ensure that all stakeholders and identified and heard, and to challenge any assumptions made, but to do so in a constructive manner that creates a good and usable outcome.

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

A: A combination of experience and expertise. For the past four years I have served on the district's Citizens Finance Advisory Committee. For the past three I have been on the board of the Glenview Education Foundation. Additionally, I worked on the committee that supported the 2020 capital referendum. My involvement in the district has been both deep and broad. From an expertise standpoint, I bring a background comprising experience in finance, project management, human resources and strategic planning. I believe this breadth of skills I have acquired through the years, combined with my knowledge of the district, will allow me to contribute effectively from day one.

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

A: Perhaps it's just me, but I think that since the community supporting District 34 is both active and vocal, there is no shortage of good ideas that people are talking about. My goal is to champion the best ones as a way to make the district better. I do not believe that I have all the answers, but I hope I have many good questions.