Evanston School Board Candidate Profile: Monique Parsons

EVANSTON, IL — Four candidates are running for three contested seats on the Evanston Township High School District 202 school board in the April 4 municipal elections.

Two incumbents are seeking re-election: Monique Parsons and Elizabeth Rolewicz. They face two challengers: Leah Piekarz and Kristen Scotti.

Evanston Patch provided all candidates with a questionnaire ahead of Tuesday's vote and publishes their responses verbatim.

Monique Parsons

Age (as of Election Day)
53

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No

Education
University of Minnesota, BA in Sociology of Law, Criminology and Deviance

Occupation
President/CEO of McGaw YMCA, 5 years

Campaign Website
https://www.monique4eths.com/

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office
Vice President, District 202 Board of Education (Current)

The most pressing issues facing the district are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

With a school as large and dynamic as ETHS, there are always many pressing issues that the board must take on at once. Our Board is committed to facing challenges head-on and our response must be dynamic. It is our job to ensure that the goals and priorities are set for the administration as they are the ones that are responsible for creating an action plan. While our challenges change, as we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have persistent challenges, such as:

1. The mental wellness of our students
2. Racial equity and the opportunity gap
3. School Safety

However, all three of these challenges are intertwined and woven together. It is our job to address these challenges by ensuring the superintendent is prioritizing these and that the board creates goals around addressing them.

For example, at a recent Board meeting, the board received a student wellness report from the administration. The board has asked the administration to provide us with a list of solutions to respond to the needs of our students. Thus, the administration has asked to hire additional school social workers and mental health staff, teachers and staff will also be receiving additional professional development opportunities to weave Social-Emotional curriculum into their classes, among many other traditional and non-traditional responses to supporting our students.

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

I am honored and humbled to be running for a third term as a District 202 Board member. My experience in this role has allowed me to really tackle long-term issues through strategic planning and goal setting. This is the first major difference between the other candidates and myself. Additionally, my role as the President/CEO of McGaw YMCA, a community non-profit, has allowed me to be uniquely positioned as a community leader beyond my service to the board. I serve on committees and task forces and have open communication with many agencies, government officials, and resources that our students need and access.

Lastly, I truly believe that it is important that our Board represent the population that we serve. As the only Black woman running for D202 school board, my lived experiences and shared experiences with our students of color allow me to connect deeper and offer a different perspective.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

As a two-term board member, my re-election campaign priorities are aligned with our current District 202 Board Goals, which are to:

Provide an equitable and excellent education at ETHS: Every student should have a strong, academically rigorous education and real-world experiences that prepare them for life after high school. I believe we can do this by persisting in District efforts to provide an equitable, accessible, and culturally responsive curriculum while closing the opportunity and achievement gaps.

Promote a school culture that centers student well-being: As the only public high school in our district, I believe ETHS is the heart of the community and it should serve to reflect the many unique identities and realities of our students as an inclusive and safe community hub.

Provide fiscal accountability and transparency: We must ensure that investments being made from a District level lead to the highest quality learning environments and experience for all students. This means being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and using Values-Based Budgeting while focusing our budget decisions to meet the changing needs of our students.

Strengthen community engagement and partnerships: I believe parents are our strongest partners in the work of education, and by partnering with them and leveraging the collective power of the Evanston community, we can create an open and welcoming environment at ETHS for parents/guardians to address their children’s needs and to support their transition experiences in and out of the District.

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

I am incredibly proud of the process and the result of the Superintendent search that the board went through last school year. The Board made it a priority to seek feedback from as many community members as possible. From students to staff to parents, to teachers, it was important for us to hear the perspective and the desires of our community. Additionally, hiring Dr. Campbell as the District's first black Superintendent is a win for all students, families, and staff at ETHS. Dr. Campbell has a long history in Evanston and has come up through the ranks as a leader at ETHS. This unique experience is one that has allowed him to not only hit the ground running but has allowed him to be creative, be bold, and be intentional in his leadership as Superintendent. As a board member, this is one of my most proud accomplishments.

Why should voters trust you?

As a two-term board member seeking a third term, I believe that I have proven my commitment to the success of all of our students at ETHS. I am reflective of this work and I know there is more work to be done. I am committed to ensuring that all students have access to the resources, opportunities, and connections that they need to be successful at ETHS. Additionally, I am a proud community member. Evanston is my hometown. I have raised my family here and continue to do so with my grandson. I am connected to the non-profit community through my work at McGaw, and I am connected to the faith-based community through my religion. I want what is best for all of Evanston, and I am committed to achieving that and my track record reflects that.

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

We must support our students' emotional and mental wellness. As we just begin to recover from COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen that we must act now to support our students. During my third-term I will continue to push the administration to be bold and creative in how we respond. We must strategically allocate resources to support our students while thinking long-term on how we support every additional class coming into our school. Our response and recovery from the pandemic is critical, and I am not only committed to supporting our students, but I am committed to ensuring that the administration has the support of the board to achieve this.

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

As I shared in my campaign platform, We must ensure that investments being made from a District level lead to the highest quality learning environments and experience for all students. This means being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and using Values-Based Budgeting while focusing our budget decisions to meet the changing needs of our students. Additionally, I understand and prioritize the importance of transparent spending - we must continue to be transparent whenever possible.

What would you do to improve the district's retention and recruitment of educational professionals?

Burnout and turnover is a national problem that was expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic and is still very much an issue. Our educators are dedicated and work extremely hard to provide the best for our students and I, personally, could not be more grateful for their work.

As a board, it is our responsibility to prioritize celebrating, recognizing, and honoring our teachers and staff. The administration has and continues to look for ways to acknowledge our teachers and staff, however, this is not a quick process. To boost morale, we must be intentional and thoughtful in our approach. Additionally, we must find creative ways to not only support the wellbeing of our students but also our staff. We can not ask teachers and staff to take care of our children if they are not able to take care of themselves first. As a board member, I am committed to keeping this as a priority and ensuring that our educators feel supported and appreciated.

As a board, We must also continue to voice our desire and prioritize hiring teachers and staff that reflect our student population. While the board is only responsible for hiring one ETHS Employee, the Superintendent, we must ensure that the superintendent and administration know that it is a priority to hire the best and most diverse group of educators and staff.

In what areas, if any, are students in the district exceeding standards? In what ways, if any, are they falling behind?

You may have heard me say this before, but I truly believe it, ETHS is the best high school in the country. Our potential as an educational institution and system is unlimited. Our students have access to some of the most innovative, rigorous, and equitable academic courses in the country. We are in a time of transition with a new superintendent completing his first year in this role. The best is yet to come and I truly believe that.

We know that our students of color are being left behind and we must evaluate our systems to address this. Additionally, we have seen a downward trend in both Math and Literacy. The administration knows that this is a priority of the board to address this and we are working collaboratively to create an action plan.

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

Equity is not a "checkbox." It is a journey. You can never do enough to support racial equity. So no, I don’t think the board has done enough, however, I don’t think the board can ever do enough- it must always be a priority. We should not be able to predict a student's academic success based on their race. We must continue to think and be bold in our approach to supporting students, and we must continue to work closely with our counterparts in District 65 to ensure students of color are coming to ETHS ready to learn.

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:

Don’t ever attach yourself to a person, a place, a company, an organization, or a project. Attach yourself to a mission, a calling, a purpose ONLY. That’s how you keep your power and peace.

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

I encourage voters to visit my website: www.monique4eths.com to learn more about me and my values.