Gina Scaletta-Nelson: Candidate for Pleasantdale District 107 Board of Education

Gina Scaletta-Nelson

Candidate for Pleasantdale District 107 Board of Education

Please tell us about yourself and your life.
I am a married mother of two girls, ages 6 and 8, and a lifelong resident of Willow Springs. I went to Pleasantdale School, Lyons Township High School and graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Science. I spent nine years working for the Cook County State’s Attorney and during that time, I returned to school to earn a Master’s Degree in Teaching from National-Louis University. I have also worked as a transportation consultant in the special events industry and in 1997 I managed airport operations for the Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C. and for the U.S. State Department during the G8 Summit of World Leaders in Denver. Later that year, I began teaching school and taught for several years until my oldest child was born. I am currently working for Northeastern University evaluating clinical placement student teachers in the MSTQE program where the students will receive a math, science, technology and middle school endorsement. In 2009, I wrote a grant to benefit the students of Pleasantdale Elementary School called the Safe Routes to School Grant. The purpose of this grant is to build sidewalks and install traffic calming devices on the streets leading to the elementary school to ensure the safe passage of neighboring students that chose to walk to school. My grant application was successfully awarded close to $400,000 for the Village of Willow Springs to use toward improving the routes to school for its children.

What prompted you to run for the board?
I decided to run for the school board for several reasons. First, I want to keep the focus of educating all children a top priority. I want to make sure that all kids are given the same opportunities for learning and that instruction is differentiated based on need. Socio-economic factors and language barriers should not be used as roadblocks to education for families in this district.

Second, I am running in order to build a more transparent and open form of government. We need to engage the community so they know their involvement and opinions count and decisions concerning the district will be based on a wide range of views rather than the opinions of one. Residents that attend meetings should be welcomed, their voices heard, and they should leave with the knowledge that their concerns will be addressed. I have attended several meetings this year where many parents have expressed concerns about the new standards based grading program. Rather than take a step back to gather input and address those concerns, this district is moving full steam ahead with a program that has some serious flaws and creates much unease by staff and parents.

Another reason I am running is to make sure that the school district is responsible and prudent with each and every tax dollar that this community pays in. We have to remember that our community is much, much larger than the 500 families that go to Pleasantdale. Empty nesters, senior citizens, families that attend private schools and young people just starting out also pay taxes to this school district and we must be vigilant with their money.

Finally, I am running because I believe that a school board should be comprised of members that have children in its schools. By June of 2012, five of our seven board members won’t have kids attending Pleasantdale any longer. It is difficult to have the best interest of students at heart when board members don’t have children in the schools. Our children will be directly impacted by the decisions they make. Should people without kids in our schools be making the decisions that will affect our children?

What experiences and qualifications do you feel you have that will make you an effective board member?
Having attended 34 of the last 36 monthly board meetings, I have gained plenty of insight and knowledge on what it takes to be an effective board member and not just a rubber stamp. I am currently serving on Pleasantdale’s Parent Advisory Committee so I understand what it takes to work together as a team. I have been on both sides of the aisle, as an educator and as a parent. I know the difficult job teachers face, but even more so in our district. I understand the issues and needs of the residents of this district because I listen to them, I am mindful of their concerns, and I care about doing what is right. It is a lot harder to do what is right than what is popular. Finally, I am also a taxpayer in this district. In these tough economic times I want to make sure that every dollar taken in is spent wisely because it’s not just my money, it’s your money too.

What do you feel are the key issues facing the district?
There are several key issues facing the district at this time. These issues include lack of communication, lack of accountability, low teacher morale and a rubber stamp school board directed by an administration that gives rise to hopelessness and apathy throughout the community it serves.

First off, communication in the district is at an all time low. The district administration releases information only when it is beneficial to them. Residents never get the whole picture; only a filtered down version that the administration wants you to see. This community is made up of smart individuals that can think for themselves if given the chance. A few years ago a communication committee met to come up with ways to improve communication, yet it has only gotten worse. Friday packets should be called “occasional packets” because they come only come out occasionally – most times, just once a month. The Standards Based Grading pilot is another perfect example of shoddy communication in our district. Nearly every parent that attended the meetings or completed the surveys complained about the horrible lack of communication throughout the program.

Another key issue is that there is no accountability in this district. Our school district was recently fined $132,000 and yet no one was held accountable or suffered repercussions as a result of this costly mistake. In private industry or the business world, there would undoubtedly be ramifications had an error of this magnitude been made. In October, three children were thrown out of school because the administration and school board chose to leap before they looked. Thousands of dollars were wasted on trying to determine whether or not a family was homeless, based on the legal definition. The children are back at Pleasantdale as a result of an independent hearing that determined they never should have been thrown out in the first place, as it was a violation of the law. Thousands of dollars were also wasted on a defunct software program that was never researched and now the district needs to purchase a different program. Finally, by the end of this school year, we will have spent tens of thousands of dollars on a barely researched assessment program that has yet to prove itself.

We have wonderful teachers and staff working with our children, but we must work to re-establish morale throughout the district. Teachers need to be able to make their own decisions and allow for creativity and critical thinking in the classrooms. When a teacher’s main focus is re-writing assessments or standardized test prep, their passion for education goes out the door. A school district cannot move forward when there is angst and discontent among its students, administration, teachers and staff members.

Finally, our school board must work to build trust, understanding, support and participation throughout the community. We need a school board that will be responsive and receptive to parents, staff, students and the community by encouraging an open dialog. Topic discussions should take place at board meetings, not prior to the meetings, over the phone or through a series of emails between board members. An effective school board takes input from all groups and weighs the facts before making a decision.

Our school board must place a higher priority on community involvement. It must be welcoming and accessible to the community it serves. Our district hosts a town hall meeting once a year with topics that do not appeal to or apply to the majority of its residents. A town hall meeting should offer school board members a chance to hear from the public and to engage in conversation with those in attendance. Unfortunately, the format of our town hall meeting discourages questions and comments from the general public unless they are topic specific. We should be encouraging and engaging rather than discouraging and alienating.

What would you like to accomplish as a board member?
First of all, I feel that I have accomplished a lot for this district already while not being on the board. In the last election, I pointed out the sad state of technology in our district and how far ahead of us neighboring districts were in terms of technology. At that time, our district did not have one interactive white board or a plan to place them in our schools, until I brought it to the public’s attention. Now, as a result, every classroom in both schools is outfitted with a Promethean interactive white board.

Secondly, I have worked toward open and transparent government by videotaping all board meetings and making them available to the public by way of the web or by means of a hard copy on DVD. Another thing I have done is to help maintain a Pleasantdale Community Blog whereby members of the community can submit stories or articles, view local board meetings, express their opinion via comments, and where they can learn about what is going on in our school district and the neighboring community in regard to news and events.

I would work hand in hand with neighboring towns and villages to make sure that we are on the same page and striving for the best for our community. When the Village of Willow Springs was awarded money for the Safe Routes to School Grant, not one board member or administrator contacted the Village to see what they could do to see this project through for the safety of our kids. Our district could have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years by getting on board with this project, but these board members wanted nothing to do with it and never even picked up a phone.

In terms of going forward, I would like to bring a fresh perspective to the board and help to establish greater board independence. It is time to get back to the business of democracy where the school board provides checks and balances to the superintendent. Decisions should be based on a majority vote following public deliberation rather than on the executive order of one person. I want to build community involvement and pride in our school system. The school board represents the community’s voice in education, providing citizen governance for what the public schools need and what the community wants. A school board member is a trustee to the community that elects him or her. They have a responsibility to the community to not only be accessible, but to work together with all parties involved to achieve the best possible education for the children entrusted to them.

I want to improve communication and bring accountability to this board. I want to work toward improving staff morale because I believe teachers are the cornerstone of a solid education for the children of the district. I support and encourage open and transparent government. I would like to see the school district, rather than a community member, responsible for taping school board meetings and broadcasting them on the internet for those unable to make it. I want community members to become more engaged with the school district and know they can approach the school board with their concerns and leave with the knowledge that their concerns will be addressed. Finally, I want to make sure that families with children in the schools are adequately represented on a school board that makes decisions that will directly impact their children.

What is your vision for the future of the district?
My vision for the future is to take our school district to the next level. I want to drastically improve communication throughout the entire district. I want to see our children actively engaged in passionate learning and harmony returned to the district. Finally, I want to empower students with a solid education so they can actively pursue a college degree or a career of their choice.