Preparing students for future is focus for McHenry School District 15 candidates

Preparing McHenry School District 15 students for their futures following three years of pandemic learning is a priority for some candidates on the April 4 ballot.

Three school board seats are up for election this year, with four people in the race: incumbents Matthew Stauner, Arne Waltmire and Patrick DeGeorge and challenger Emily Jay.

The board is now working to ensure students are getting back up to speed following COVID-19 and are prepared to learn, DeGeorge said. That preparation must include relearning social skills that may have been lost during the pandemic.

Some students who were isolated from their peers “don’t know how to effectively express their emotions. You will see them lash out,” DeGeorge said.

Teachers now are helping students “learn how to interact with each other,” while they ”figure out ways to adapt their teaching skills and classrooms to work with those students,” DeGeorge said.

The COVID-19 years – be it during the lockdown or hybrid classes – were tough for everyone, Stauner said. “I was the board president when the shutdowns happened. There were a lot of issues to deal with there: remote learning, not being in school, figuring out how to get their education, to get food” to students at home.

Moving forward from that, District 15′s biggest issue is ensuring “that our children’s education is the best we can make it with the resources to prepare for the future, ... providing them with the skills to be well-rounded individuals for completing in a global world,” Stauner said.

It is not too soon to get kids prepared for and thinking about their futures, Waltmire said.

“Whether it is high school or elementary kids, you are preparing them for their future. It is important for students in the elementary grades to get their foundation ... what is important to be successful for their education and their lives,” Waltmire said.

Both Stauner and Waltmire said the recently completed district strategic plan will lay out that foundation in the coming years.

Built with “a lot of perspectives from multiple stakeholders in the community,” the district will continue to explore what community needs but using the new plan as a basis, Stauner said.

The strategic plan lays out “a vision and core values. We will use that for planning and education in the future,” Waltmire said.

Multiple attempts to reach Jay were not successful.