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A CPS mum or dad, a non-public college mum or dad, and a state authorities employee are vying to symbolize households in District 7 on Chicago’s Southwest Aspect within the metropolis’s first college board elections in November.
Raquel Don, Yesenia Lopez, and Eva A. Villalobos are on the poll to symbolize the sprawling district, which incorporates 79 faculties with 42,471 college students — the biggest enrollment of any college board district.
District 7 contains Pilsen, Little Village, Brighton Park, Gage Park, and the Close to West Aspect. The district additionally spans parts of Bridgeport, Chinatown, McKinley Park, and Archer Heights.
District 7 largely serves Hispanic college students who make up 65% of the scholar physique within the district, adopted by Asian American college students at roughly 14%. Nearly 13% of scholars are white and solely a small proportion of scholars are Black at roughly 7%.
The district additionally has the biggest proportion of scholars receiving free and lowered lunches at 81% and the second largest proportion of bilingual college students within the metropolis at practically 44%.
Seven faculties are deemed “Exemplary” by the Illinois State Board of Training, which means they rank within the prime 10% of faculties throughout the state. Two are magnet faculties. There are three excessive faculties recognized as needing “Intensive Assist,” which means they’re among the many lowest performing 5% of faculties within the state.
Don and Villalobos are each former accountants, whereas Lopez works for the Illinois Secretary of State. All attended Southwest Aspect faculties rising up.
The trio cite various priorities for District 7 if they’re elected to the college board and have totally different views on neighborhood faculties and college selection.
Who’s Raquel Don?
Don, 49, is a CPS mum or dad, former accountant, and Native Faculty Council member for Jones School Prep Excessive Faculty, the place she has served since 2014. She can be a board member for parent-run nonprofit Pals of Jones and was additionally an LSC member for James Ward Elementary Faculty in Armour Sq..
Don was not out there for an interview by press time.
“I need to proceed the work that I’ve been doing for over 20 years, advocating for all college students’ academic wants, the crucial wants of their educational facility, and their security generally,” she stated in a Chalkbeat questionnaire.
Don, initially from Chicago, lives in Armour Sq. together with her youngsters and husband Donald Don, who ran for alderman of the eleventh Ward final 12 months. She graduated from the now-closed Lourdes Excessive Faculty in Bridgeport.
Don’s prime three priorities are enhancing achievement, enhancing college buildings and college security, which she considers a very powerful priorities for households when choosing a college for his or her youngsters.
She helps having cops officers in faculties, permitting college communities to find out what’s finest for his or her buildings.
Don doesn’t assist shifting away from selective enrollment, magnet and constitution faculties. Faculty selections shouldn’t be eliminated with out first presenting households with a greater choice, she stated.
In relation to CPS’ finances, she doesn’t assist yearly elevating the tax levy to fund college operations. The present finances must be analyzed and distribution amongst faculties must be reassessed, she stated. Drawing from her expertise as an LSC member, she has seen “how the finances causes chaos in faculties when prioritizing their wants.”
Don’s marketing campaign was self-funded as of Sept. 22. In response to marketing campaign finance filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, she loaned her marketing campaign $2828 on Sept. 3.
Learn Don’s full questionnaire responses.
Who’s Yesenia Lopez?
Lopez, 35, is an government assistant for the Illinois Secretary of State and served because the Latino outreach director for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s marketing campaign. She is a graduate from DePaul College, the place she studied political science and gender research. She has served in a number of state and federal campaigns, together with State Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who endorsed her run for Chicago’s Board of Training.
Lopez lives in Gage Park, the place she additionally grew up. In her early years, she additionally lived in Pilsen. She attended Pickard Elementary Faculty and graduated from Benito Juarez Neighborhood Academy in Pilsen. Lopez doesn’t have any youngsters.
“I’m working for the historic place to empower our college students, households, and group members who’ve lengthy been underrepresented in academic choices,” she stated.
Lopez has no expertise as a neighborhood college council member, however she has attended conferences at faculties the place she is concerned via her work with different organizations, she stated. She is on the board of the nonprofit group Telpochcalli Neighborhood Training Mission, which works to assist Little Village’s elementary Telpochcalli Faculty. She can be board secretary for the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Basis.
Her prime three priorities are supporting neighborhood faculties, enhancing particular schooling, and enhancing bilingual schooling, she stated.
Lopez considers bolstering twin language applications is vital not just for the Hispanic and Asian American inhabitants within the district, however to “make Chicago a competitor within the globalized world,” she stated. Twin language applications are important for brand spanking new arrivals and longtime households within the district, as effectively for all college students who will be part of an “worldwide and extra aggressive” workforce after graduating, she stated.
In relation to CPS’ finances, Lopez advocates for “working with finances and monetary consultants and group stakeholders to discover various funding options.” Funding ought to think about the wants of faculties and the “financial realities” of communities, she stated.
Faculties ought to function “group hubs” the place households and college students can obtain the schooling and providers they want, together with ESL and GED applications for adults, immigration help and different social providers, she stated.
“Oftentimes households in our communities, particularly on the Southwest Aspect additionally want assist,” she stated.
The district’s new funding system is “a step in the correct course,” but CPS must proceed discovering native, state and federal sources of income to “absolutely make investments” in neighborhood faculties, she stated.
Lopez helps prioritizing neighborhood faculties, that are in “determined want of revitalization.”
The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed the necessity for counselors, therapists, social staff, nurses, and household assist providers in faculties, she stated. Funding may be used to enhance particular education schemes, as academics don’t all the time have the assets and coaching to assist college students with particular wants, she stated.
“Our coverage can’t be to desert and overlook them,” she stated.
Prioritizing neighborhood faculties is “not a call to finish the variety of academic choices,” she stated. Closing constitution faculties just isn’t certainly one of her proposals, but she intends to uplift neighborhood faculties and guarantee charters and neighborhood faculties are held “to the identical customary and accountability,” she stated.
She is the one candidate within the district endorsed by the Chicago Academics Union. The union helps candidates subscribing to its platform which incorporates “ending privatization and unionizing all college employees,” in line with its web site. Different precedence areas for Lopez, aligned with the union’s platform, embody remodeling faculties into sustainable group facilities and addressing group wants that disrupt schooling.
Lopez has no money readily available and didn’t obtain any contributions from CTU or different donors as of June 30, in line with the Illinois State Board of Elections knowledge.
Learn Lopez’s full questionnaire responses.
Who’s Eva A. Villalobos?
Villalobos is a former accountant and personal college mum or dad of 4 women. She turned to personal faculties when she couldn’t discover the psychological well being and educational assist her household wanted, particularly for her two adopted daughters, she stated. That have led her to run for the Board of Training.
“No matter whether or not it’s a standard public college or constitution faculties, college students are college students, and we shouldn’t be treating them any [differently],” she stated.
Villalobos lives in Brighton Park together with her household. She grew up in Again of the Yards and Gage Park. She attended a number of CPS faculties in these neighborhoods alongside together with her six siblings, together with John M. Hamline Elementary in Again of the Yards, Armour Elementary Faculty, and McLellan Elementary Faculty in Bridgeport, and Englewood’s Hope School Prep in Englewood, earlier than graduating from Curie Excessive Faculty.
Her prime three priorities are equitable college funding, enhancing psychological well being, and enhancing particular schooling, she stated.
Drawing from her monetary background, she proposes prioritizing a full and thorough audit of the finances earlier than contemplating any will increase to taxpayers.
“At a time the place our faculties are dealing with declining enrollment and underperformance, we have to take an in-depth take a look at how the finances is at present balanced,” she stated.
Villalobos has been a vocal supporter of college selection, having used the Put money into Children tax-credit scholarship program to ship her youngsters to personal college. The credit score for her oldest baby allowed her to almost halve the tutoring for her youngsters’ Southwest Aspect Catholic college, she advised Chalkbeat final 12 months. Illinois let the scholarship program lapse on the finish of 2023 and Villalobos stated on the time it could probably power her to take her youngsters out of personal college.
She is a powerful supporter of fogeys’ voice in schooling and feels there’s a “divisive narrative” in relation to pondering neighborhood faculties versus constitution, magnet, and selective enrollment faculties.
Households choose faculties primarily based on their “wants and choices,” and constitution, magnet, and selective enrollment faculties are very a lot a part of the group, she stated.
“One of many the explanation why I’m saying we do have to pay attention extra to our dad and mom is that they’re those who’re dealing with all these complications and making an attempt to interrupt down all these obstacles to get the assistance for the youngsters,” she stated.
Villalobos helps letting faculties determine whether or not cops needs to be in faculties and offering them with the “autonomy and data” to determine the way to make the college atmosphere secure, she stated.
Villalobos’ marketing campaign had about $4,600 {dollars} in money as of June 30, in line with Illinois State Board of Elections filings. Her marketing campaign acquired $2,500 in contributions from the City Heart PAC, led by former CPS CEO and mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. The group helps candidates and organizations “main a typical sense group agenda.”
Learn Villalobos’ full questionnaire responses.
Correction: A earlier model of this text misreported that Villalobos acquired a $1,000 donation from public relations specialist and Pilsen group organizer Andrew Herrera. She acquired a $1,000 contribution from a unique Andrew Herrera.
This story was printed in partnership with Block Membership Chicago.
