Athena Arvanitis, Elmhurst D205 Candidate

ELMHURST, IL – Athena Arvanitis, president of the Elmhurst School District 205 board, is one of five candidates for three seats.

Here are her responses to the Patch questionnaire:

Editor's note: The views expressed in the responses are the candidate's and are unedited by Patch.

Name:

Athena Arvanitis

Town of residence:

Elmhurst

Age:

45

Campaign contact email:

AthenaArvanitis03@gmail.com

Family:

My husband, Nick Arvanitis, two daughters Demi and Thalia Arvanitis

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education:

Northern Illinois University, BS, Marketing; Roosevelt University, MA, Secondary Education; Concordia University Chicago, Certification, School Administration

Occupation:

Educational Consultant

Previous or current elected or appointed office:

Current President, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education

The single most pressing issue facing the school board is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

If I had to choose one issue facing the school board today it would be elevating student academic growth and proficiency. During the last two academic years, the district has seen impressive gains in student learning in grades K-8. This positive change in student proficiency is accredited to the adoption of evidence based curriculum, successful implementation of professional development programs for teachers, the utilization of a data-driven decision making model, continuous monitoring of student learning, assessing the impact of interventions, and the intentional targeting of district financial resources to meet the ever-changing needs of all students.

Currently, significant focus is being placed on grades 9-12 as the district implements the above improvement efforts with a sense of urgency since growth in 9-12 has been more volatile than what they have experienced in grades K-8. In addition to the efforts outlined above, the high school has increased the number of learning supports available to students and they are more frequently monitoring student growth throughout the school year increasing the number of moments available for targeted learning intervention while continuing to improve teaching and learning practices school wide.

Overall, Elmhurst students have the opportunity to engage in strong learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom and are prepared for life after high school. Student growth in proficiency in grades 9-12 continues to be a top priority for me as a former high school administrator in a high performing school district and current member of the Elmhurst CUSD205 Board of Education.

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

There are two distinct differences between me and the other candidates seeking election. I am a former school administrator who spent 19 fortunate years of my career at New Trier High School. I’ve held numerous leadership positions as an educator and ended my career at New Trier as an Assistant Principal. My understanding of what it takes to become a high performing school district coupled with my ability to identify and imbed the values of the Elmhurst community has bode well in my work with the Board of Education and the Administration throughout my first term. Being the only candidate seeking a second term, my experience on the school board over the last four years is important to continue moving the district on the current upwards path.

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

There are many accomplishments of the school board during my first term and over the last 4 years. We are about to complete a very large referendum project increasing the educational value in our community, we have implemented long range financial planning, we have improved student outcomes, we have attracted and retained high quality administrators and staff, we have reduced the number of barriers students had to overcome to access school opportunities and academics and have worked to create equity in curricular resources and facilities among our schools, just to name a few. Equally as important, the board has maintained its conservative fiscal stewardship and is maximizing the return on the community’s investment in our schools. There is still much more work to do and I am proud to say the district is on a strong path forward to continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our community.

In my former role as an administrator and in my current role as President of the Elmhurst CUSD205 Board of Education, information, collaboration, communication, and feedback are key to the continuous improvement model that has been implemented throughout the district over the last four years. Managing discord and moving forward with the community and our students' best interest in mind is the simplest way I can describe how I work through difficult and complicated situations. Within this process, key factors to making progress include open and honest dialogue, listening for understanding, and focusing on core values and goals.

Finally, my professional experience is a valuable attribute to the school board mostly when trying to understand the challenges facing public schools today while representing the best interests and values of our community.

The state has given its worst financial rating to the district; that rating remains in effect. Is this fair? What can be done about it?

As discussed by the current Board of Education and explained during multiple board meetings by both the administration, financial advisors, consultants, and auditors, in the auditor's preliminary review of the district's most recent annual financial report (2024), it has been determined that the district will once again be in the Illinois State Board of Education Financial Profile Designations highest category of Recognition. The Board of Education anticipates this preliminary distinction to be formalized soon, upon the auditor's submission of the district’s annual report to the state.

The lowered financial ratings were issued when the district was reporting under an accounting method that led to a misaligned representation of district finances and also negatively impacted the district's financial profile rating. Simply speaking, in 2020 a recommendation was made to the Board of Education to change the accounting method being used to report finances to the state. That change deferred the June tax payment (revenue from the county/property taxes and used for the following school year) until July and was done in effort to more accurately represent revenue and expenses by school year. Since the state uses the fund balance on June 30 to determine a district's financial health, an unintended consequence of deferring the June tax payment was that the district reflected a lower fund balance than needed on June 30th to maintain the highest distinction awarded by the state. In 2023, the Board reverted back to the old accounting method realigning their accounting practice with the State’s method and to no longer defer the June tax payment resulting in the district, once again, receiving the highest distinction. The problem has been solved.

The District is in good financial standing and health. During this high inflationary period, it is important that the Board continue to discover ways to manage escalating costs by staying focused on making strong financial decisions that minimize the burden on taxpayers in our community while continuing to work towards providing a high quality education to all students.

Are the district's property taxes too high, too low or just about right? Explain.

The community investment in our public schools is profound. In exchange, the community expects a high quality and high functioning educational environment for their children. When it comes to property taxes, Elmhurst has consistently had the lowest tax rate compared to our neighboring unit districts and, over the last decade, the district has maintained a tax cap at less than the average CPI. It is safe to say there is strong financial stewardship of tax dollars focused on minimizing the burden on our taxpayers while building high quality schools and elevating student learning outcomes in our district. The administration, by direction of the school board, continuously reviews programming to identify the rate of return for each educational decision and program implementation and to discover the impact on student learning while working towards maximizing the return on every dollar spent by the district.

Do you support the district's increase in the number of employees even while enrollment is flat? Why or why not?

The correlation between the increase in the number of employees in our district and student enrollment numbers is narrow in scope and doesn’t take into consideration the values of our community or the changing needs of students.

A core value of our community is to offer a comprehensive high school experience that delivers a rich curriculum (above and beyond what is required by the state) and a robust extra-curricular program providing a vast array of offerings so that all students can find a place to engage and belong inside and outside of the classroom. Another core value is the community’s desire to preserve structures like neighborhood elementary and middle schools. Both of these community values innately provide the need for financial expansion to support the staffing demand across the district so that the District continues to offer rich and robust experiences for students.

Elmhurst is changing and, in turn, so are the services students need to maximize their learning. One of many examples of this is the growing number of English language learners in our community requiring the district to hire educators who can provide this specialized support to students. There are a number of other specialized student services needed to support student learning and year to year, the list has continued to expand.

We are fortunate to live in a community who is engaged and supportive of the school district. As a Board member, I will continue to represent the needs and wants of our community, while focusing on what is best for students and minimizing the tax burden on residents.

What is your view of students' performance on standardized tests? What can be done to improve scores?

See my answer in the first question. The District is putting forth tremendous effort to improve student performance on standardized tests and Elmhurst is fortunate to have a strong district administrative team leading this work. We are already seeing double digit growth in grades K-5 and significant improvement in 6-8. Efforts to improve the high school scores are explained in my first response above. The good news is that this administration, with the support of the current school board, is moving the needle in the right direction, something that the district was not able to do just four short years ago.

How can the district narrow the gap in performance between low- and high-income students?

The District needs to continue the good work they have been doing for the last 2 years in raising proficiency for all students while also focusing on elevating proficiency for the most at risk populations. Seeing early signs of success in student growth in grades K-8, I am confident we will see the narrowing of the gap in performance between low income students and the overall student population in the near future.

The District continues to closely monitor achievement gaps and work towards narrowing them over time. Although the size of the gaps appears to remain relatively unchanged at the moment, the recent rise in overall district proficiency is being driven largely by improvements in proficiency rates among students from low-income backgrounds. One piece of data that tells us this is that the percentage of students reaching proficiency rose at a much faster rate among Low Income students than among the overall student population over the past two years. The ELA proficiency rates among low income students improved by 60% from 2022 to 2024; in math the low income proficiency rate improved by 49%. This improvement was more than double the district’s overall pace of progress towards higher proficiency rates.

By continuing to support all students’ individual academic and social-emotional needs through varied programs and interventions, the district will continue the upward trajectory in growth for all students each year. Targeted supports and interventions for students who fall in the low income category have been put in place. The District’s work to continuously elevate student proficiency includes aligning resources, instructional practices, and supports based on data and learning standards, with a focus across all grade levels to guarantee instruction enhances student outcomes.

How is the district doing in getting good and bad news to the community?

Communication and transparency have been a priority for the Board and the District as outlined by the current strategic plan. There is always room for improvement and I am pleased to say over the last four years communication and transparency have improved in our district. The District has added the Community Connections quarterly newsletter which is mailed to each home in the district, they have increased their social media presence, enhanced the district website, improved district communication tools to share important and at times time sensitive information with parents, students and staff, they have created the Annual State of the District event that gives an overview of the districts work and they have increased the number of parent and community engagement events at individual schools, just to name a few of the continued efforts to improve communication and transparency with the community.

In effort to continue to improve communication with the community, beginning in February 2025, all Board of Education Committee Meetings (including policy and finance committees) will be recorded and placed on the district's website for interested community members to view. These committee meetings are being made available in addition to the already posted regular and special Board meetings videos.

How do you view the district's handling of the situation around its former facilities director, Todd Schmidt?

Being a current board member, I cannot comment on personnel matters.

The district has declined to say who authorized Mr. Schmidt's personal spending on the district's credit card. Should the district reveal this information? Why or why not?

Being a current board member, I cannot comment on personnel matters.

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

No.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have enjoyed my work on the school board and am hopeful that I can continue this work by being elected to a second term. Being a school board member creates an avenue for me to give back to the wonderful community that provides so much to all of us. Thank you for reading my profile and please, reach out if you would like to connect! www.AthenaForD205.com