The Viking Logue sent out a questionnaire to all nine candidates in the District 211 Board of Education race. See all of the candidates’ responses to one of the questions below. See here for The Logue‘s full coverage of the April 6 election, including the candidates’ responses to other topics on the questionnaire.

You may feel strongly about an issue for which we did not ask a question. If this is the case, please take the opportunity to share your thoughts on that issue here.

Curtis Bradley: I believe we need to provide pathways for high quality career and technical education (CTE) and early college coursework to all students, so all students are set up for success after leaving high school – whether that pathway leads to college or directly to the workforce. By preparing our students for life after graduation, we empower individual students while cultivating a stronger workforce which aids our local community.

Denise Wilson: The health of a community depends on the health of its local high schools as high schools should prepare young people for the challenges of the future.

Robi Vollkommer: There are a few.

I don’t agree with this NON-PARTISAN Board Of Education election being treated as a partisan election with some candidates getting political endorsements. I also feel it’s a conflict of interest when candidates receive a Teacher’s Union endorsement.

There seems to be a huge inequity between all the schools regarding academics.

1) There are course offerings at some of the high schools and not others. When my oldest was a freshman at SHS, she wanted to take AP World History, but it wasn’t offered. However, it was offered at other D211 high schools like Fremd and Conant.

2) There is a huge emphasis on athletics over academics within the school district and academic achievements are not given their rightly deserved recognition. I had to pursuade SHS to update their Academic Scholar Wall after 7 years of neglect and Hoffman Estates doesn’t even have one.

Kristen Steel: I AM KRISTEN STEEL. I AM AWESOME. I hope to continue to be a role model for all young women seeking to be a strong voice in the community making a difference for others. Tell your parents to vote for me to ensure the future of D211 is bright. We’re Stronger Together!!

Jessica Hinkle: I think we could do a better job of, not just preparing our students for college, but preparing them for vocational careers and careers in the trades. Not all students are cut out for college or have an interest for it. We need to improve on how we prepare those student for life after school just as much as the ones we are preparing to go to college. I also think we need to do a better job at preparing our students for the real world. How many students do you know understand how taxes work, how and/or when to invest, how 401Ks/pensions/IRAs work, how unions work, how loans work, etc. These are important things in life that we could do better at preparing you all for.

Roxanne Wittkamp: The candidate did not respond to this question.

Anna Klimkowicz: Development of a new strategic plan. Five years have now passed since the approval in August 2016 of the strategic plan. This plan identified four strategic areas: Life Readiness; Professional Responsiveness; Community Partnerships; Organizational Effectiveness and has served as the written directive over these five years. It will be time to review the key priorities and goals of each strategic area to determine the future direction and what areas need to be added, expanded or redirected and how best to envision “The 211 of Tomorrow.” The strategic plan provides the community with the opportunity to share their thoughts, concerns and suggestions to help prepare our youth for the future.

Tim Mc Gowan: Even a year ago, I would not have imagined myself running for public office. This past year made me realize that my voice is powerful, and it has also helped students across the district realize their power as well. We are already seeing incredible impacts that are resulting from student action. I hope that D211 students continue to advocate for their needs and come together to create change.

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