www.dailyherald.com/news/politics/elections/2009/race/candidates/?id=707&candidate=992Unit D204 board member
Cathy Piehl Incumbent: Yes
Occupation: School Social Worker
Age: 50
Address: Naperville, IL
CANDIDATE INFORMATION
Family
Married, 3 sons.
Education/degrees
School Social Work Certification from Aurora University Masters of Social Work, Jane Addams College of Social Work UIC
BA Psychology, Eastern Illinois University
Civic Involvement
Parent Diversity Advisory Council (PDAC) Leadership Team - Dialogue Circle Program
May Watts PTA IPPC, PDAC and Legislative Chair and Nominating Committees
Hill PTA Hunger Hunter Mentor
Waubonsie PTA PDAC Liaison
Indian Prairie Parents Council (IPPC) Served on Legislative Committee which headed an investigation and resulted in the current practice by District 204 Administration to assign non-student attendance days on Polling Days.
Dialogue Facilitator for Aurora Community Study Circles and Many Young Voices
Religious Education Teacher for St. Thomas the Apostle
Rainbows Facilitator (Group grief processing program for ages k-5) for St. Thomas the Apostle Church
Volunteer Mediator for Knoxville Tennessee Juvenile Court
President of Cambridge Woods Homeowners Association in Knoxville TN.
Elected/appointed offices held
In my wildest dreams, I never considered I would run for a public service office; however, since my appointment in August, the crossover from community service to public service has been incredibly satisfying. My natural ability to listen, analyze and collaborate, has been a good fit for the decision-making process necessary to achieve our mission to ""Prepare all Students to Succeed.""
Candidate's Key Issues
Key Issue 1 We need a call for partnership. Today’s educational system has come a long way in 20+ years. It should not be viewed in isolation from the rest of the community. It needs to be integral, not just in words, but also in thought and action. To “Prepare all students to succeed” we as a community - all stakeholders - need to be involved in our young people’s education. Navigating our children’s education is not a simple task for families; it needs to be a collaborative effort. In addition, “families” can no longer be thought of in the traditional model: mother and father plus children. If elected I will continue to call for partnership. Being an effective board member requires a team attitude. Collaboration and partnership begins at the board table and reaches out to families and community members. I am confident that I can influence our district community and encourage all stakeholders to embrace partnership. By doing so, we can come closer to ensuring each child in District 204 has the opportunity to reach his or her potential. This is my role as a parent, and it is my role as a board member.
Key Issue 2 The top priority always needs to be preparing all students to succeed. Closing gaps in subgroups, and increasing overall achievement of all our students has to remain our core focus. Pursuing the changes necessary to achieve these goals is going to take continued community support while monitoring a currently diminishing revenue source. Therefore, when we look at priorities, we need to consider factors such as trust and communication within our community. I believe that by working with our community to achieve the goal of preparing all students to succeed, we will create more trust, increase communication at every level, and have a direct impact on achievement of our students. This collaboration can work to increase welcoming and inclusive school environments and embed character education not just in our classrooms, but in our community environment as well. By increasing the inclusive environment and integrating core values, we will also be able to set excellent foundation for improvements in our Special Education Program. Collaborative efforts have already proven sensationally successful with various green initiatives at several of our schools, working to establish a caring environment, both at home and at school, and increasing our student’s awareness of their citizenship.
Key Issue 3 We need to ensure financial accountability & responsibility. There will be some tough choices to make without a positive change in the economic environment; however, I will not support choices that would diminish the quality education our students currently receive. I firmly believe that as we consider decisions, we need to keep the long- term effects upper most in our minds. If, for example, previous administrations and boards had been more forward thinking, we would have had several more of our elementary schools with air conditioning at this point in our history. We cannot let the current economy frighten us into carrying a costly burden to address several years from now. But we can become more creative with collaborative efforts in our community. Curriculum-based business partnerships will help us enhance the learning experiences for our students. We are working with community members to establish district wide green initiatives. These have saved us money in the past, and we can use them to help us continue to both save revenues in our operating budget, and be a part of preserving our environment. We need to develop these further.
Questions & Answers
Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted.
1. What is the most important issue facing Indian Prairie Unit District 204 and how specifically would you address it as a member of the school board?
Trust is the largest issue facing our district. Creating trust between the community, the administration and the school board is necessary if we are to communicate effectively and work together collaboratively. There is no shortcut to this process. All board members should be actively facilitating the community’s participation. This commitment to the public governing process has to be each board member’s focus. This is how trust is built. This is how collaborative relationships are developed.
Our district is just now coming off an incredibly long history of rapid growth. With a new superintendent and several new board members coming on, we are in a great state of transition. With transition, there are communication breakdowns, and much of those breakdowns can be associated with a lack of trust. In addition, we have a continually evolving contextual environment for our children, which technology has been able to accelerate beyond most of our imaginations. Therefore, we have several areas that need to be addressed simultaneously.
1. We will need constant evaluation/reevaluation of our policies and programs as they relate to the social well being of our students. Our policies and programs need to be ready to address the rapidly changing issues our students’ experiences. Pedagogy techniques for practices when our staff interact with our students need to enforce core values, yet foster the learning environment.
2. The developmental nature of the relationship between the board members and the new superintendent is a process. With more experience with the board, the superintendent will begin to clarify the parameters for when to keep everyone abreast of situations. Establishing those boundaries is essential to having a solid and trusting working relationship. The new board that will be established in April can take significant measures geared toward developing that relationship effectively, such as using the Illinois Association of School Board as a resource for team building workshops. When individual board members come to the table with personal agendas, believing they can act independently, trust is eroded, and it floods the community like sewage spouting from fountains.
3. There is a need to actively involve the community in a productive and positive manner. This is why I have a call for partnership. The call for partnership starts at the basic level of defining the partnership role of both families and schools. However, in times of crisis, the duplicity of our district stands out. We are the third largest district in Illinois, but at the same time, we are a district made up of small communities. At the district level, we can take steps that can create more trust between the community and the administration and board. For instance, a significant change in the board agenda has been the addition of a board workshop from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. This is an optimal opportunity for our community to learn about programs, budget items, initiatives, school improvement plans, policy changes, etc., and engage in the process of developing and understanding our school system. We need to raise the awareness of the value of attending a workshop. In addition, there is a need to educate the community members on board process and procedure so we can facilitate their ability to be knowledgeable and active participants. The board and administration have to create opportunities to engage the public for dialogue. Unfortunately, the format of a board meeting does not allow for dialogue. I am hopeful that we can put a place in the agenda that allows the board to address the public with a statement regarding new business or current issues. The board would not be able to take action on these issues, but it could serve to inform the public of where in the process the board is at regarding the issue.
2. The district is negotiating a new teachers contract this year. Do you believe teachers should continue to get raises in this economy? If so, what percentage do you think is fair (counting step increases)?
The reality of teacher negotiations encompasses many factors. Number one is the need to provide excellent teachers for our students. That factor sets the need to offer competitive salaries for our teachers. A district that is not competitive in salary has a difficult time attracting quality teachers, and experiences higher rates of turnover. The current decline in our economy will not be felt in our budget for two more years. It is in the year 2010 -2011 when we will see the negative impact of a .1 % consumer price index. Since I currently sit on the board of education of District 204, and we are in the midst of contract negotiations, I am prevented from speaking about what I consider a fair percentage. However, given the state of the economy, and the known outlook for the near future, we all will need to keep a balance of needs and wants as we move forward.
3. The economic downturn will put a strain on District 204's budget. What specific ideas do you have for increasing revenue or cutting spending?
There are steps we can take to stabilize our budget. Number one, we need to ensure that the revenues we are owed are delivered from the state. As a board, we are able to advocate legislatively. With the help of our legislators, Darlene Senger and Mike Connelly, and Senator Randy Hultgren, we will have a great team advocating for our fair share of revenues. As a board, we can put pressure on the state to begin paying tax revenues already owed. In addition, we can also begin to benefit from the stimulus package, which has increased federal funding of IDEA to 37%. Currently our district has paid the bulk of the special education program out of general property tax revenues. This additional funding will benefit our district a great deal. As a board, we will need to constantly monitor spending, and continue to advocate the tightening of belts. Working with collaborative efforts with community members will need to be a part of our process for evaluating cost effectiveness of our programs and initiatives.
4. How can the district improve its curriculum to ensure students are prepared for college and/or the workforce?
We are already well on our way to improving our curriculum to prepare our students for life after high school. We have many targets (to be met by 2012) which are specific to achieve this, including developing technology skill instruction for all students K-12, and having all high school courses using common, end of semester exams and requiring each student to complete at least one on-line course, dual credit course, or an AP course. In addition, by working more collaboratively with businesses and agencies throughout our communities we can use curriculum-based partnerships to enhance the education for our future workforce. All these steps are in progress, and for expansion, professional development training and planned rollouts.
5. If you are an incumbent, outline your three major contributions to the school board. If you are a challenger, outline the three contributions you hope to make during your first term.
I question if anyone can ever make such a claim as a school board member, as it is meant to be a team, collaborative approach. I have been very excited to advocate for green initiatives, and encourage its expansion throughout the district, as has all board members. I have also been encouraged to see the Parent Diversity Advisory Council begin to work more closely with administration in looking at our school improvement plans and how we can engage all our students. Again, this is through collaboration with all members of the Parent Diversity Advisory Council, not due to one individual. I hope to continue to be encouraging collaborative efforts on all fronts. As a social worker, I would like us to continue to use agencies in more collaborative ways to help serve the developmental growth needs of our students. I am pushing to expand on the programs we already use. But my approach is always going to include working with community members and administrators.
