Tom Chavez: 2023 Candidate for Elmhurst Unit District 205 School Board

Bio

Town: Elmhurst

Age on Election Day: 58

Occupation: Commodity Broker

Employer: Alternative Capital Advisors

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: My family has lived in Elmhurst for 17 years, and our experience in Elmhurst Public Schools has been overwhelmingly positive.

As parents, we have had the opportunity to follow our children's K-12 journey through D205, and carefully observe how the academic learning platform has changed.

In recent years, merit and rigor have been supplanted by a new educational mindset that has jettisoned curriculum that has worked for decades in favor of promoting equal outcomes. The data shows that academic results are not good.

According to the 2022 Illinois Report Card, only 45% of District 205 8th graders can do math at grade level, and only about 50% of York 11th graders meet or exceed standards in math and English. The data shows the downward trend in academic proficiency began before the pandemic and continues.

Elmhurst Public Schools, once considered top tier, are no longer producing academic excellence. I am motivated by the challenge of restoring academic excellence to District 205.

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

A: Curriculum is central to a student's experience. It is a school's primary means of influencing what and how students learn.

The school board is responsible for ensuring our students are on track academically. It is also responsible for hiring the administrative team, assessing, and measuring their performance, and holding them accountable to produce strong academic results.

The school board should vigilantly monitor academic outcomes because research shows once students fall far behind, it is extremely difficult to get them caught up. Pre-pandemic proficiency data shows the district has been off track academically for several years.

Our community needs a school board that will demand academic excellence for all students, and ensure the right administration, curriculum and policies are in place to achieve it.

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

A: Reading is foundational, and literacy is the benchmark for most academic success. A strong ELA curriculum underpins academic excellence.

In education parlance, scope and sequence is a term used to identify the amount of content an educator will teach, and sequence is the order in which they will teach it. Lexile scores are numbers used to categorize the complexity of a text.

I consulted with educators and literacy experts and found that scope and sequence and lexile appear to be misaligned. For example, all 9th grade students at York, including those in Honors English, are required to read books that are far below grade level complexity.

In 2022, York ELA SAT average scores fell below 540, or basline proficiency. These numbers are far below historical results for D205, and below many of our peer high schools.

I beleive the district's ELA curriculum should be thoroughly reviewed and adjusted to get our students back on track as quickly as possible.

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 view my role as a collaborator and a problem solver and want to ensure the board works with the administration to create an environment where everyone feels safe to share their ideas and opinions.

Members of the board should demonstrate to constituents that they have done their homework and have a comprehensive understanding of the district's mission critical issues.

I want to restore our reputation as a top-tier school district, and make sure we live up to the high academic standards that many families moved to Elmhurst for.

Every board member should ensure that board policies are being followed, especially when difficult decisions are being made around controversial issues.

Good leadership and critical thinkers, working within a strong policy framework, should drive better outcomes with less disagreement and controversy.

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: At the onset of the pandemic the response to close schools and businesses was the appropriate one. Until better information on the disease was available, safety first was the right course of action.

As more was learned about the disease, and new protocols and safety measures were put in place to get essential services back running, schools should have followed that lead and re-opened.

With learning loss compounding, and social and emotional issues being driven by school closures and isolation of vulnerable children, the school board should have prioritized getting kids back into classrooms.

If another resurgence occurs, the appropriate course of action would be to ensure safety first, learn as much about the disease as quickly as possible, and to prioritize keeping children in classrooms.

D205 should also ensure that families with Immunocompromised children or adults, who need to isolate for medical reasons, are provided the best remote learning platform possible.

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: Throughout my professional career, I have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with others on policy, and on establishing company-wide processes and procedures.

I hold myself accountable to be informed about issues so I can contribute meaningfully to discussions. I listen carefully to other opinions, especially from people who demonstrate they have taken the time to learn and understand the subject matter.

I am a strong advocate for improvement in our schools and will work tirelessly and collaboratively with the board and administration to reclaim excellence in D205.

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

A: For a year and a half, I have persistently advocated for improvement. I have demonstrated through action, not just words, that I am committed and will take the time to thoroughly understand the district's mission critical issues so I can make informed decisions on behalf of students, parents, and stakeholders.

73% of property taxes in Elmhurst go toward funding District 205, but the vast majority of households paying property do not have children in the community public schools. As a board member, I will commit to using taxpayer funds responsibly, resourcefully, and transparently.

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

A: Illinois Report Card data shows nearly 4,000 D205 students behind academically. That's a lot of children, and a problem that will take Elmhurst coming together as a community to resolve.

Education experts suggest "direct and intensive remediation" is necessary to get students who are far behind academically caught up.

Among the ideas I have put forward is crowdsourcing tutor volunteers from within our community to help children to catch up academically.

We have thousands of potential volunteers in Elmhurst who could commit to a few hours a week of tutoring to help the most vulnerable students get back on track.