Laura Stanton, Crystal Lake School District 47 BOE election questionnaire

Full Name: Laura LW Stanton

What office are you seeking? School Board Member District 47 (Crystal Lake)

What is your political party? N/A

What is your current age? 36

Occupation and Employer: Teacher: Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95

What offices, if any, have you previously held? None

City: Crystal Lake

Campaign Website: https://sites.google.com/view/vote-laura-lw-stanton/home

Education: Bachelors: English with Secondary Education

Masters: Reading with K-12 Certification

Community involvement: I am a member of Bethany Lutheran Church and volunteer there as much as I can. I have for the past two years volunteered to help with the Christmas pageant.

I have also organized a community sock drive with my daughters for two years now to give to those in need.

And, during COVID, I ran a weekly guided reading group for my neighborhood kiddos. Because I am a certified K-12 reading specialist, I tried to help in any way I could during that time.

Marital status/Immediate family: I am married (to Bill Stanton) and have 4 daughters.

Why are you running for office?

I grew up in Crystal Lake and have been an active member of this community my entire life. My husband, Bill, also grew up in Crystal Lake. I am currently a teacher in Lake County and have been for the past 12 years. My husband is also in education but on the administrative side. We have chosen Crystal Lake to raise our 4 daughters in. We hope this community will be as special to them as it has been for us. To say I am invested in Crystal Lake District 47 is an understatement. All four of my daughters are in the district, and I see being on this school board as an opportunity to give back to my community and to continue to make Crystal Lake schools a strong reason as to why people move here and choose to raise their families here. I have two main goals if I am elected: 1. Help Crystal Lake District 47 retain good, quality teachers so that our students continue to have amazing educators. 2. Make sure students who have fallen behind have programs in place to get them caught up.

What makes you qualified for the office you’re seeking?

As a lifelong community member, mom of four kids in the district, and a teacher I am ready to support this amazing district and am ready to share my strengths to do what is best for kids and their learning. My areas of expertise that I think bring so much value to the table as a board member include the following: committee work, teaching and learning, intervention programs, literacy programs, aligning curriculum to state standards and understanding state mandates/legislature, revising/modifying/adopting new curriculum, instructional coaching programs, in-house professional development, student growth and achievement, social emotional learning initiatives and programs, differentiated instruction and programs, and data-drive decision making. I would be a great addition to the board and would be able to offer valuable insights and ideas working alongside fellow board members as we support our kids in this amazing district, Crystal Lake District 47.

Have you sought and/or received any training to run for your local school board? If so, from whom?

Not yet.

Would you propose any changes to the curriculum? If so, what?

I believe setting and monitoring a curriculum is a partnership between the board and the district. Often times the state passes legislation requiring schools to adopt new curriculum or change current curriculum. It is this partnership that allows district leadership and educators to examine what they already do and figure out what needs to be adapted/modified or adopted. The board then should examine these changes and have the opportunity to ask questions and/or bring up concerns, providing an additional opportunity for revision if needed. As the board represents the community, I believe that the board should be working with the district to make sure that any adaptations/modifications or adoptions are what works best for the students in District 47. At this time, I would not propose any changes.

Are LGBTQ students treated fairly in your district?

District 47 has supported and continues to support all students. This can be seen through various programs implemented at the schools including Multi-Tiered Interventions and Supports (MTSS), both social emotional and academic, as mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education. These programs are universally applied, at Tier 1, to help support all students and to provide opportunities for all students’ voices to be heard.

What is your assessment of how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is handled in your school district?

Do you believe the district needs to make any changes to improve DEI in your district?

Are teachers in your district paid adequately now and in retirement?

The teachers in District 47 work through a collective bargaining process every few years to reach an agreement with the Board of Education on a variety of working conditions, one of which is salary. This process is complex, but it offers an opportunity for teachers’ voices to be heard. It is essential that the Board of Education works with the teachers union to come to a fair agreement that shows support of teachers but is also monetarily responsible when understanding the long-term budget. One issue that concerns me is teacher retention due to the teacher shortage. In order for Crystal Lake District 47 to continue to have a robust and rigorous learning experience for all students, the district needs to retain teachers. Collective bargaining is an opportunity for District 47 to work with its teachers to ensure the best contract is ratified for teachers and the district. In regards to retirement, teachers who have contributed into the Teacher RetirementSystem have the opportunityto collect their pension upon completion of 35 years of service in public education. This system is independent of district contributions. Any other retirement benefits would have to be collectively bargained.

Would you support changes to teacher pay scales? If so, how?

What is your assessment of the district superintendent’s compensation?

The superintendent’s compensation should be dependent on the individual’s experience and regional competitive comparisons. As the board evaluates those two components, compensation is decided. When Dr. Hinz was hired, I believe the board worked through the hiring process carefully and considered her experience and regional competitive comparisons to agree upon a fair compensation package.

Would you make any changes to how the district superintendent is compensated?

Because a superintendent is not a part of the collective bargaining process, this individual has an opportunity to negotiate various aspects of the compensation package. The only change I would make is if the superintendent wanted to negotiate. The requests would have to be considered by the board and then agreed upon.

Do you support the current superintendent? Please explain.

I do support the superintendent, and I support a good working relationship between the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools. In the relationship with the superintendent, as in any working relationship, it is important to communicate on a regular basis and assure a common understanding of long and short term goals. If elected, I will work to establish a great, positive relationship with Dr. Hinz and the whole learning community.

Should schools in your district adopt and teach sex education according to the National Sex Education Standards? Please explain.

When the Illinois State Board of Education adopts a standard alignment or passes legislation, it is up the district to figure out how that program looks for them. It is the responsibility of district administration to review new programs/policies that are passed and work together to figure out what those new programs/policies look like in their district. Once administration has had time to assess the new ISBE mandates, they share those recommendations with the board. This creates an opportunity for the board to gain understanding of these new programs/policies and ask questions to seek clarification of what the new mandate is asking of the district. The Personal Safety and Sex Education Program should go through this process. Additionally, the comprehensive sex education mandate currently includes language that allows districts to adopt whole, part, of none of the mandate. As a board member, I would take time to understand the program, listen to what administration has outlined in implementing this program, and then make sure the implementation is what will work best for the students of Crystal Lake. I will always make decisions with students first and what works best for District 47.

What is your assessment of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled locally?

I think COVID was handled to the best of everyone’s ability. The forever changing guidelines and protocols were difficult to keep up with, and they all seemed to need to happen rather quickly, adding stress to everyone’s plate. This situation is one that no one signed for. This includes the board, school administration, teachers, students, and parents. From a parent’s perspective, I felt that District 47 did the best job possible to continue my kids’ learning. The decisions made were difficult and at times almost impossible to figure out how things could work in our schools; however, the teachers were amazing virtually, the district did get our kids back, and the district did everything they could to keep our kids in school.

What did you learn from the pandemic?

It is weird looking back on 2020 and thinking about everything that we have been through. Our students/kids (especially), parents, teachers, schools, communities, etc. lived through a time no one saw coming. Fast forward to 2023, we have learned, grown, and moved forward. Because of what we have learned, I think we can face an outbreak of COVID with much more ease. Having lived through this, we have mitigations that can be put into place with ease without major disruptions in learning. I cannot imagine closing our schools again since we have testing available, masking available, increased cleaning available, and a trust in our community that if kids are sick, they stay home. We have grown as a community and found a way to move forward. I want to continue to move forward but with those tools in our toolbox if we need them so that our kids can keep learning and get the continued support within our schools.

Are voters that support your district taxed at an appropriate level?

District 47 is a large K-8 district, and one that I am a product of. When I look back at my elementary and middle school years, I foremost remember the amazing teachers I had. I then think about the programs I was able to be a part of: talent shows, musicals, choir, band, sports, etc. When my husband and I decided on where we wanted to raise our family, the answer was easy: Crystal Lake. We decided on Crystal Lake because we knew our kids were going to have a meaningful, rigorous, and exceptional educational experience. And, we are not alone. Families move here for the schools and the same educational experiences we are wanting for our own kids. In order for this to happen, the district needs to operate in a way to provide an exceptional K-8 educational experience while also providing extra curricular programs that I so fondly remember and cannot wait for my kids to be a part of. So, are voters taxed at an appropriate level? I believe that in order for schools to continue to offer as much as they do for our kids, they need the money to do so.

Would you support any plans to raise taxes in the district? If so, what should the additional revenue be spent on?

If I were elected as a board member, I would first need to examine which long term plans are already in place that would need additional funding. Those long term plans would help me decide on whether or not taxes would need to be raised. An example of a possible long term plan could be capital improvements or early childhood programming.

Would you support lowering taxes in the district? If so, what programs or services in the district would you cut?

District 47 is a large K-8 district, and one that I am a product of. When I look back at my elementary and middle school years, I first and foremost remember the amazing teachers I had. I then think about the programs I was able to be a part of: talent shows, musicals, choir, band, sports, etc. When my husband and I decided on where we wanted to raise our family, the answer was easy: Crystal Lake. We decided on Crystal Lake because we knew our kids were going to have a meaningful, rigorous, and exceptional educational experience. And, we are not alone. Families move here for the schools and the same educational experiences we are wanting for our own kids. In order for this to happen, the district needs to operate in a way to provide an exceptional K-8 educational experience while also providing extra curricular programs that I so fondly remember and cannot wait for my kids to be a part of. So, would I support lowering taxes? I would not support lowering taxes if it meant cutting programs that support the kids in District 47 or if it meant not being able to offer the exceptional educational experiences we all want for our kids.

Will you accept the voters’ decision in your race on Election Day?

Of course, yes.

What is your position on open, transparent government?

I am in support of it.

Do you support the Freedom of Information Act and citizens’ ability to freely access government records?

Yes. It is the law.