Anisha Patel: Candidate For Arlington Heights SD 25

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Ahead of the April 6 consolidated municipal elections, Arlington Heights Patch provided questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot.

Eight candidates are vying for four seats on the Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education on Election Day. They include three incumbents (Gina Faso, Richard Olejniczak and Anisha Patel) and five challengers (Melisa Andrews, Katie Rausch, Gregory Scapillato, Deborah Tranter and Todd Witherow).

Arlington Heights Patch is publishing all responses submitted by candidates verbatim.

Anisha Patel

Age (as of election day)

47

Town/city of residence

Arlington Heights

School district

25

Family

Our family has lived in Arlington Heights for 12 years. My husband Sajid, is the CEO of a local engineering firm. We have 4 children who attend elementary, middle and high school.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

No

Education

Doctor of Education, Organizational Change and Leadership
University of Southern California (2022)
Master in Education, Organizational Leadership,
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Principal Certification (2003)
Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1998)

Occupation

Chief Education Officer, InnovusED
Organization Change and Leadership

Campaign website

www.ElectAnisha.com

Previous or current elected or appointed office

School Board Member, Arlington Heights School District 25

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing our district is to emerge stronger after the many challenges we faced due to the pandemic. Our school board is charged with the responsibility to ensure that our schools meet the educational needs of every student. In order to rebuild our district, our board must restore effective board governance for the sake of our students and community. We have to address issues pertaining to pandemic learning loss, and the increased socio-emotional concerns for our students.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Education and improving schools is my life’s work. Emerging stronger from the pandemic will take seasoned leadership. Having completed my first term as a school board member, my sleeves are already rolled up and I am determined to continue to strengthen our district. In addition, I have been a teacher, school administrator, and adjunct professor for over 25 years. I also bring to our board my understanding of nonprofit leadership, social entrepreneurship, and consulting experience in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. About 2 years ago, I began pursuing my doctorate to research even further how to make K-12 education better.

I also take seriously my ethical and moral responsibility to represent every voice. During a crisis, collaboration is more important than ever, and I strive to maintain two-way conversations with all stakeholders. Now more than ever, our students and school community need us. We are in a tough time and people are understandably divided over how to solve this crisis. I will continue to put principles before personalities and balance the multiple perspectives with the science provided by public health organizations.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

N/A

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

In my 2nd term as a board member, I will focus on a quality education to equip every learner with 21st century skills. Being raised multilingual in Malawi, Africa, I see the importance of cultivating globally minded individuals with social and cross cultural understanding, with strong academic, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. Expanding our continuum of services to better meet the needs of all students, including our marginalized populations, students with special needs and advanced learners. Reduce performance gaps, and maximize learning potential. I am looking forward to following through on some of this important work that I supported in my first term.

Secondly, I will strengthen board governance through accountability, fiscal stewardship, and helpful communication. This year has further taught me the importance of ensuring that every leader including the superintendent and our school board members are fulfilling their roles and responsibilities. To that end, I have already begun processes to include robust annual leadership reviews. We have to do a better job to ensure that our district effectively communicates our action plan as we help drive the mission and vision to provide expanded services like full-day kindergarten in a fiscally responsible way.

Finally, I will enhance collaborative partnerships by cultivating inclusion and equity to create a sense of belonging for all. Collaboration is essential to battling crises such as COVID-19, and I strive to maintain open communication with both constituents and fellow board members. We also have a lot of work to do to ensure that every individual connected to our district feels at home and thrives in a culture of mutual understanding and respect.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My strong track record as an experienced, collaborative and inclusive leader demonstrates that I can successfully handle the role of serving as a school board member. I serve with empathy and put principles before personalities to listen to all district voices. I consider diverse perspectives to inform my decision-making. As a lifelong learner, I continuously take advantage of development opportunities to strengthen board governance. I have begun to implement a robust, standards based evaluation system to provide comprehensive feedback for our superintendent. I have also instituted an annual board review process, understanding that effective board governance results in high student achievement. I have advocated for diversity, equity and inclusion resulting in our district beginning professional development in this area. This important outreach work will ensure that our curriculum and inclusive schools support our students in cultivating mutual respect, understanding, and global mindedness. I have supported further development of our special education programming by encouraging the implementation of best practices from exploration and tours of exemplary special education programs. Finally, I provided oversight in addressing enrollment growth, ensuring the successful completion of 5 fiscally responsible school additions within the budget and projected timeline.

Why should voters trust you?

4 years ago, the District 25 community elected me with the highest vote count. I take this responsibility very seriously. When I was sworn in as your school board member, I took an oath to “serve as education's key advocate on behalf of students and our community's schools.” I stand by this oath every single day. In my first term in an elected role, I have appreciated collaborating with my board colleagues and the district community- at-large. I have participated fully contributing to numerous committees and optional board governance development opportunities. As a result, I have received the endorsements of most of my fellow board members, including my former school board colleagues, and elected officials on every local governing body in Arlington Heights. In addition to the vote of confidence that I have received from our community, I have also been elected by neighboring school board members, as a Director-at-Large to the Illinois Association of School Boards, North Cook Division. In this capacity I have collaborated with over 40 member districts to gain greater knowledge to advance our District.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

For the last four years, I have listened to my constituents and I will continue to collaborate with diverse stakeholders for the sake of our students. We need to continue to progress on key issues that I have heard from our community: First and foremost, after all that our students, families and District community have gone through this past year, a successful term would be demonstrated by recovering from the challenges of the pandemic. Additionally, we should advance in expanding our continuum of services to better meet the needs of all students, including our marginalized populations, students with special needs and advanced learners. Reduce performance gaps, and maximize learning potential. We must also address the growing socio-emotional needs. A sense of belonging and mutual understanding must be fostered by cultivating diversity, equity and inclusion. The pandemic has brought to light a focus on healing external and internal relationships through even greater transparency and communication. Finally, we must continue to demonstrate financial stewardship in response to the changing nature of school funding and prepare for future budget projections for high-quality programs, such as full-day kindergarten.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

I take seriously the responsibility to oversee the taxpayers’ dollars. As a school board member, I am proud of the fact that our school district received the Certificate of Excellence from the Illinois State Board of Education and the National Association of School Business Officials for exceeding the program’s high standards for financial reporting and accountability. Our District's award winning business department, has maintained fiscal responsibility with our meticulous community tax dollar management processes. For over 20 years in a row District 25’s Business Department has been honored for going above and beyond in their financial reporting. Transparency and trust are not the only benefits to applying for and winning this honor. This process and accolade is also highly regarded by bond rating agencies.

Do you support Black Lives Matter and what are your thoughts on the demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake?

I support Black Lives Matter. The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy and at the core of the First Amendment.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

My lens in advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) stems from my professional efforts in this area, my doctoral research, and my global perspectives being raised multilingual, in a developing country in Malawi, Africa. There is much work to do in the area of racial equity and our board and district has just begun this journey by recruiting expert consultants to support this work. To that end it will be important to cultivate a sense of belonging for all, recruit and retain the best candidates to have rich diversity in staff, provide ongoing professional development in cultural humility, and reevaluate curriculum resources and teaching practices to ensure acknowledgement of diverse perspectives. It is my mission to lead with equity and inclusion. To that end, I advocated and supported the district’s Resolution to End Racial Injustice. This resolution will be as strong as the team of teachers, administrators, school board and community that drives it forward. Everyone has a longing for belonging. Inclusiveness allows for this sense of belonging and impacts the social-emotional well-being of our district community. In addition, infusing our curriculum and our schools with a diverse perspective will be a bonus benefitting all students to thrive. As recommended by the Illinois Association of School Board and Illinois State Board of Education, individually and collectively as a school board we must continue our commitment to living out the important words of the District’s diversity resolution.

What are your thoughts on the district’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic? Are you in favor of remote learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two? Do you support a mask mandate for students and school staff, or mandatory coronavirus testing for both students and staff

As a former classroom teacher, I strongly believe that in-person learning in our schools provides the most meaningful experiences for our students. I will ensure that health guidelines are followed so schools can continue to maximize in-person learning opportunities. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the wearing of masks for students and school staff. Currently public health organizations do not recommend Coronavirus testing for everyone.
As far as the district’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, D25 staff dedicated themselves to supporting students right from the start of the pandemic. Despite unprecedented challenges, they remained agile as the situation evolved. In March, 2020, when schools had to cancel in-person learning, D25 was ready on Day 1 to transition to remote instruction. The drastic shift in learning style was challenging for everyone, especially younger grades, students with special needs, and English language learners. In response, D25 in collaboration with our hardworking PTA’s organized drive-thru community boosting events. Social-emotional checks were put in place. Before the new school year, outdoor social distanced teacher-student gatherings were organized. D25 adjusted lesson planning by training teachers to facilitate technology-based remote learning. Every student was provided a learning device. In October, when we transitioned to hybrid learning, teachers worked diligently to support in-person and remote learners concurrently. Since the pandemic began, the Food Service Department has distributed 709,000 free meals and counting. Every difficult situation comes with challenging decisions due to the consequences they hold. Given the circumstances the district stepped up to the plate and proved their commitment to students. My goal is to guide our district to implement lessons learned and consistently work towards excellence.

When the vaccine is available to them, do you support mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for students and staff?

District 25 was one of the first in the area to offer vaccinations to the entire staff ensuring their safety to conduct classes. At this time, the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory, and is not being administered to children in the K-8 age range.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No.

The best advice ever shared with me was ____________

The best advice ever shared with me was a quote by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”