2019 Mahomet-Seymour School Board Candidate Discussion

2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Visiting Schools Not including athletics or other extracurricular activities, tell us about the last time that you were in one of our schools and interacted with any teachers and/or students who are not part of your family? Julie Cebulski (outside township): I am currently busy planning the Post Prom event and have been at the school working with administration and volunteers.  This is the 4th year that I have co-chaired this event. Over the years, I held many volunteer positions in our school district that did not involve my own children; from reading to students, mentoring at the junior high, coordinating volunteers for book fairs and even a room parent to classrooms in which I had no children.  I was a governor numerous times for Hands Around the World. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):I am at the schools so often that it is almost hard to call out the last time I was in the school.  If I really think about it, it was several days during the school day and after school helping with my son’s Rube Goldberg project in February.  I feel so lucky to be able to be in the schools so frequently. Some of the other roles/opportunities I have had are as follows: I spent 4 years on the PTO, three years as treasurer and one as president.  During that time I had the opportunity to work closely with teachers to plan and track how Dawg Walk allocations were spent in the schools. In addition to that, I participated and often lead many kid assemblies related to the Dawg Walk over the past 5 years – this included putting a tutu and participating with the kids during the Dawg Walks, which is why many kids know me as “the Dawg Walk Lady.”  As treasurer of the PTO, I was intimately involved in all of the bookfairs that took place during my tenure. This involved money collection, bringing on board the ability for books to be purchased using credit cards, and working with the librarians to distribute the funds earned during those book fairs. In addition to that, over the past 6 years, I have been a volunteer in the classrooms of my boys.  Depending on the year, some of those volunteering efforts occurred on a weekly basis, where I would help with reading or math for certain students or be available in general classroom settings to assist the teachers as needed. My boys and I were involved with a few of the Sangamon Reading nights, where I assisted as needed and my boys were involved as the mascots or characters on site for the school day and the nights of the events.  I have participated in the HANDS around the world event at Lincoln Trail for 3-4 years; once as a governor and then after that as a general volunteer for the event. I organized and helped put on the Lincoln Trail Talent Show for two years. All of these volunteering opportunities have helped me to develop meaningful relationships with teachers and kids. I am grateful for what these relationships have given me and I believe that what I have seen and learned by being in the schools regularly, and in different capacities, will serve me well as a school board member. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township): I am currently participating on a parent advisory committee organized by the director of athletics. The committee addresses the safety, health, and well being of our student athletes. As a board member I have had numerous conversations with teachers and parents since last June when I was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board. Otherwise the majority of my interactions with school personnel or students has been directly related to my children. Ken Keefe (outside township): I am a PTO room parent for my daughter’s kindergarten class. The last time I was in the classroom was to help set up and run a holiday party. This wasn’t a ton of work or anything, but I am sure my daughter’s teacher was grateful that I took care of coordinating the party snacks and party activity. I also have lunch with my daughter every couple of weeks and I interact with teachers in MPE and students who know me as their old Mahomet Rec coach or as the Dawg Walk guy who ran the assembly where the principals were slimed. You slime two principals and all of a sudden, every kid knows you! I am very active in the Mahomet-Seymour Parent Teacher Organization, which serves our K-5 grades. Around Dawg Walk time, the office staff got to know my face very well as I was constantly running in missing prizes or swapping out t-shirts that were too small. I think it is important for the community to be involved in our buildings because I simply think our children are better off for it. Aside from the PTO, I was a mystery reader in Mrs. Mitchell’s first grade class for another daughter last year. Mrs. Mitchell was also very brave to take me up on my offer to bring about 20,000 live honeybees into her classroom last spring. Don’t worry, I’m a beekeeper and they were very well contained. I told students all about the lives of bees, why bees are so important, and what to do if you are stung. The students were really enthralled by the experience and, if I taught one kid about how to be safe around bees, it was an afternoon well spent. I would encourage the district to leverage the great resources in our community to get more people involved in the education process. Community involvement sends a message to our children that we all are better off when we help each other. Lance Raver (inside township):My most recent visit to one of our buildings was for the FFA annual banquet.  This was an excellent opportunity to interact with our amazing FFA students, their parents, district employees and the community.  Learning about the tremendous opportunities the FFA provides our students was very enjoyable. Most impressive was the young people that are enrolled in the program.  They are truly future leaders of our community. Colleen Schultz (inside township): My last experience in the schools (not including helping with that fabulous drama production at the junior high—I can’t help but give a shout out to those fabulous kids) was with the Rube Goldberg project at Lincoln Trail.  For those that don’t know, the Rube Goldberg experience is a fabulous one for our fifth grade students. Each class produces a ‘Rube’ machine out of common household materials that will accomplish the completion of an engineering task given to them.  This year the challenge was to create a machine that made four distinct sounds with only one ‘touch’ by the students. There is a competition and a few of our Lincoln Trail classes where selected to present their machines at the U of I Engineering Open House.  In addition to the Rube experience at our schools this past month, I was also thrilled to see the Lincoln Trail classes experience success at the Open House and then to walk around with the students as they experienced some of the exhibits put on by the university. I have really enjoyed my experiences over the years being in the schools.  Some of the highlights for me are being a room mom, going on many field trips, tutoring math, reading with kids, teaching fun math lessons, participating in special projects and so much more.  It’s a privilege to be able to experience these things with my kids as well as so many others. Jason Tompkins (inside township): I had the great pleasure of attending the K-5 curriculum night at Middletown-Prairie this past February.  I do not have a student at Middletown-Prairie. It was great to hear from the educators and administrators on all that is taking place in this great facility.  Furthermore, it was great to interact with students who were actually assisting with the presentations. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Technology Education What is your definition of technology education and curriculum? How does the use of chromebooks fulfill that definition and how will they prepare students for future employment? Julie Cebulski (outside township): Technology education and curriculum can work together to give our students important skills for their future.  Our current chromebooks have much potential to build skills for students to properly research and write research papers.  Technology curriculum should include properly using search engines, properly communicating digitally, documenting research,and presenting finished work (graphics and written). I anticipate seeing a more streamlined use of chromebooks in the classrooms as educators further develop their skills to create lessons that incorporate appropriate use of chromebooks.  Of course, in almost every field the skills I listed above will be utilized and valuable for upward movement. But, technology should only be a part of education.  There is much to be said in human interactions and tactile learning. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):Technology has been around a long time; electricity, internet, projectors, chalkboards etc. At some time or another, all the tools we use are a product of technology, and the key word is tool.  Technology and education belong together when the technology is the right tool for the job. With respect to the chromebooks, these are also tools that must be integrated into the curriculum where appropriate.  Simply using a Chromebook does not prepare our students or enhance their learning. Many studies show that for learning, handwriting notes is a far superior mechanism to typing and the act of handwriting increases learning.  Also, new studies show that too much screen time is changing the way our brains work and the younger the person, the higher the impact of the screen time. As a parent, I believe that it is critical that we look at all of our tools and make sure that we are choosing wisely when it comes to enhancing learning. If elected, I plan to make focusing on curriculum and technology a key issue for research and discussion.  The latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has indicated that Internet Use Gaming Disorder is something significant enough to warrant further research and could someday soon have it’s own medical code for providers. This seems to indicate that a look into how we use the internet and online tools impacts our physical and mental health. Given this, I believe that screen time and kids must be a focus for us as parents, educators and citizens of the world, and that we must not assume that technology is always a good addition to learning.  When properly used, technology is wonderful, when not properly used, there are consequences. It is important that we actively look at all tools and pick carefully those that support and enhance learning and not get caught up in new tools without ensuring the proper research has gone into how we will use those tools and the affect they will have on our children. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Defining technology education and curriculum is best left to those who are trained to teach this subject. Utilizing chromebooks or other devices is a component of that education but certainly does not fulfill it. Educating our students in the appropriate use of technology is very important in preparing them for future education and employment. Our school needs to provide students a foundation of understanding regarding the use of technology that can be expanded as their education progresses. Ken Keefe (outside township): My father was a machinist and a patient educator. I learned many valuable lessons in the shop, such as “measure twice, cut once,” and “a man can never have too many clamps.” One that stuck with me is, “when you are holding a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.” What he meant by that is, use the right tool for the problem you are trying to solve. Technology education refers to teaching students about the tools that humans have developed. Curriculum is the plan to deliver educational content to students. A technology education curriculum should be written, detailed, clear, and directly address the purpose of each lesson or task (usually by referencing a standard it satisfies). I think a common pitfall in education, especially from school boards, is that technology is the answer to everything. Too many children in a classroom? Invest in technology, so the kids are busy! Kids are acting out in class? Get everyone playing a captivating educational game! Kids are struggling to write and spell well? Install that word-processor that does it all for them! Those are a whole lot of problems that are not really nails. Look, I’m a technology guy. I have two degrees in computer science. I have absolutely nothing against technology, when it is the right tool for the job. When my kids are getting rambunctious in the house, I shoo them outside to jump on the trampoline. When my kids need help with their math, we sit down at the kitchen table and talk it through with a pencil and paper. When my kids need to work on sight words, we bust out the handwritten flashcards. The district’s use of chromebooks is very valuable in many classroom situations. The chromebooks are NOT valuable in EVERY situation. I have spoken with parents, students, and teachers who have said that chromebooks are being used as much as possible and for any reason possible. This is wrong. We have to look to our teachers to guide the intelligent use of technology like chromebooks. Pushing chromebooks onto teachers without their input is simply going about this all wrong. I am for providing our students the right tools for the job. I could care less about maintaining our public image as a district where every student is always working on their new laptop. Let’s use the right tools for the job. Lance Raver (inside township):Technology is obviously a critical part of our society and instrumental in most lines of work that our students will ultimately perform after their educational careers are complete.  It is absolutely necessary that our students be not just competent in technology but be able to use it in a wide range of applications. Chrome books put technology in our students hands every day and enable them to integrate it into all areas of their coursework.  They are able to experience how technology can be used to perform and enhance activities in a wide range of settings. Colleen Schultz (inside township):In 1878 Osbourn Dorsey invented the doorknob.  It’s a wonderful technology that our students use nearly every day at school.  Before this invention of technology, doors were held closed with ropes. While we could still hold doors closed with ropes today, our lives are better because we have this technology of having doorknobs.  This is just one example of technology which is the application of science to make our lives better. The development of technology involves creativity, inventiveness, critical thinking and problem solving.  When we think of technology education and curriculum, we should be thinking of how we can help our students to develop these traits. A Chromebook is simply a tool that can be used in learning. If used properly, a Chromebook could enhance a student’s development of creativity, inventiveness, critical thinking and problem solving.  If used improperly it could be a classroom distraction. I believe that all tools, Chromebooks and otherwise, need to be selected and evaluated based on their enhancement of learning. Jason Tompkins (inside township): Chromebooks are a tool that should be used to enhance the education experience for our students.  Chromebooks do not replace our teaching professionals. Bottom line. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour  Candidate Discussion: Public Comment A recent document published by the board points to certain forms of communication created for dialogue and yet my experience is these platforms are for presentation purposes and not actual engagement.  Questions are asked and often not answered. Outside of student and personnel issues, if elected, how will you ensure that the board actually responds directly to public comments? Julie Cebulski (outside township): I agree that our board has generally created platforms for them to present, rather than engage. I would very much like to see better communication between the board and the public.  I anticipate that when the community feels heard that a trusting relationship between the board and the public will follow. Being cognizant of the fact that the board must reply to the community as a group and not as individuals, I would like to spend more time in informal settings prior to board meetings. This will enable the board to better listen to the public.  I would encourage individuals to present their opinions during school board meetings and would advocate that the board respond to concerns. Study sessions should be initiated when individuals bring up concerns. Responses to community members may not be in the moment, but  they should not be left unaddressed. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):Communication is the way you build relationships, and relationships lead to trust.  I am committed to creating spaces for open and 2-way communication. I would suggest creating meetings and publicizing them per the open meetings act, but that the approach to those meetings are more of a town hall setting; where people can meet in small groups with board members and then also the group at large to discuss issues.  I also feel that if a question is asked in public, it should be answered in public. We can utilize technology to create pages that list questions asked publicly and then the answers to those questions. I find that if one person has a question, that often, others have the same question. Creating a public question “online forum”, similar to a typical FAQ site would go a long way to improving communication and transparency for the district. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Public comments and questions are always welcome. I will always try to answer questions or address comments based on the information that is available to me. If I am unable to adequately address the question or comment, then I will direct the individual to someone who can help them. Individual board members may freely respond to concerns, but they cannot speak on behalf of the board without authorization. Ken Keefe (outside township):If someone is motivated enough to publicly address the board about an issue that they need help with, I will definitely take steps to follow through and treat it seriously. I can tell you from personal experience that addressing the board in a public meeting about something I care very much about is an intimidating experience. I have watched about a dozen people address the board in the past few years and, unfortunately, not a single one of them received any meaningful followup that I am aware of. I personally presented a policy suggestion to the board that was developed by a group of about twenty parents regarding school communication when an unusual event occurs. The response from the board was simply to thank me for my time and let me know that they would not be moving forward with the idea. There is a reason that the school board BEGAN talking about developing a plan for community engagement just last month. It is because there is no current plan and they don’t take that responsibility seriously, even though our own superintendent has written, spoken, and practically dragged them along encouraging them to engage with the community. Our current board seems to have forgotten that they work for the people. The first thing I would do as a sitting board member is to meet with the person to make sure I fully understand the issue and that they have used the appropriate channels to address it. If they haven’t taken the issue to the right people in the right order according to the board’s own grievance policy, I will help them through the process. I will continue working with them as long as they want me to in order to see that they find a resolution or they fully exhaust the correct grievance procedure. I look at this as simply part of the job. The board works for the people. Lance Raver (inside township):Questions asked of the school board during meetings definitely do need to be answered.  Usually those responses are not going to be addressed at that time. Many times they are of a sensitive nature or deal with an issue specific to a certain family.  Other times there is additional research that needs to be done to provide a full and complete answer. The most appropriate way to handle this is for the relevant administrator to follow up with the person asking the question after the board meeting is over and research has been done.  If it is an issue that pertains to a large portion of the district and is of a time sensitive nature the Skyward system can also be used to get information out to parents. Colleen Schultz (inside township):I have been paying attention for quite some time now to this issue of board communication.  I have spoken to the board about this issue and have not felt listened to. My experience leads me to agree with you in believing that community engagement and two-way communication are not a priority for our current board. As a Board member, if a community member speaks at a board meeting, I will listen and hear (those words mean two different things!) to what the person has to say. I will then advocate for our board to respond in a timely fashion while, of course, respecting all privacy laws and open meetings act laws. If the matter requires more open dialogue and group discussion, I will ask to have a future study session about the topic in question. Study sessions are a great place to get information about certain school district issues and it is a great forum for board members to ask questions of administration and discuss matters in public. If elected, I also promise to make myself available to the public during my entire four year term, not just in the weeks before the election! I hope we will have public events (townhalls, etc) where people can ask questions, give opinions and I can engage with the public in dialogue. Public engagement and communication are not difficult, they just require commitment and discipline to carry them out. This is a major platform of my campaign and I promise to be a listening and engaged board member. Jason Tompkins (inside township): Communication is something that has to continually be improved.  This does not just apply to the school district. The applies to our homes, our workplace, our relationships.  We must keep communicating. As a board member, I will work very hard to build on our communication methods and practices.  I will work to make sure voters know where I stand when I vote on a matter. Communication also means being available to listen.  I have said it before and I will say it again – You cannot learn anything with your mouth open. I will do my best to hear what is being said and understand how I can help.   2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Preparing Students When you think about preparing students for the future: whether in college, a trade school or as a professional, what do think the Mahomet-Seymour School District should provide during their K-12 years? Julie Cebulski (outside township): The bottom line is students must feel safe and our district should be providing a positive learning environment where teachers,support staff,  parents, students, and community members feel they are part of the team. Students and parents should feel empowered to advocate for their needs and be made aware of their rights within the school system. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):When I think of successful people, I don’t often think of their profession.  I believe success comes from a person’s ability to navigate the world in a way that brings them joy.  My boys have asked me the question “what should I be when I grow up?” and my answer to them is always the same: “I want you to be happy, I want to you find joy in the little things, I want you to make the world better for having been in it, I want you to bring joy to others.”  I know that what they are asking me is what job they should have, but I don’t know the answer to that – so I want to expand their thoughts about the question. I think if we are able to create an environment that focuses on learning not only the “hard skills” of reading, writing, science and math, but also fosters a curiosity for life and provides skills that lead to problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking and global citizenship we are doing a good job.  We need to make available as many different experiences as we can so that kids learn that these skills are what will help them navigate life wherever it takes them after high school. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township): All students must have the opportunity to flourish and achieve their individual goals. Obviously we need to provide opportunities for our students to thrive academically, but also provide technical or vocational pathways for any student who desires to pursue a career in a particular trade. When a student graduates from MSHS they should be prepared to achieve their goals in any setting, academic or otherwise. I believe success is also rooted in experiences. Students need to be challenged and also grow as individuals as they experience and overcome adversity. The goal of an education at Mahomet-Seymour schools should be more than an intellectual exercise. The desire is for a well rounded education that provides the fundamentals of education but gives opportunity for students to pursue personal interests in the arts, athletics, technology, social clubs, or community service. Ken Keefe (outside township): I think K-12 education is about preparing students to be well-rounded citizens and preparing them for the next step in their diverse lives. The first task means ensuring students learn to stay healthy, take care of others, be honest, be productive, and have the general skills to tackle most everyday problems. Students should be taught about the world around them and the people who live in it and their histories, how to think critically, how to communicate effectively, how to make plans, and how to exercise the discipline necessary to achieve their goals. The second task can be trickier. We have to be careful because the world, and often our children as well, is very much in a hurry to get kids to specialize. The world wants children, before their brains are even fully developed, to pick a career and blaze the path toward it at full speed. This can be successful at times. However, it often ends up in failure or a lack of fulfillment. Just look around at the many people you know who are working in fields other than what they studied in school. As part of a K-12 education, we do want students to make plans and dream an ambitious dream. But, as the adults, we must recognize that we must first build a solid foundation for students to achieve the life goals that they haven’t even dreamed, yet. This means emphasizing a broad foundation. This means requiring students to study art, history, music, math, science, English, foreign language, and so on. This is not to say that we should not also be practical. We should look at where our students have historically gone and where our current students are hoping to go. We must try to prepare them as best we can to be ready for technical schools, trade schools, apprenticeships, community college, university, entrepreneurship, and military service. Luckily, many of the prerequisites for those paths are in common. We must prepare our students for what comes next, but not at the expense of failing to provide a well-rounded education. Lance Raver (inside township):Our number one job is to prepare our students academically, socially and emotionally to succeed after they graduate from Mahomet-Seymour.  This success looks different for every student. It may include a career, further education or military service. Mahomet-Seymour is doing a tremendous job equipping our students to follow these paths.  Our career training programs offers many paths of study while still enrolled at M-S including computer networking, automotive repair, construction, manufacturing, welding, EMT & firefighting, criminal justice, nine different agriculture classes, digital media and 3D animation.  With our district being ranked #11 in the entire state of Illinois, students who wish to attend college have amazing opportunities to prepare themselves to compete and succeed in college. Colleen Schultz (inside township): As we think about preparing students for their future, we need to acknowledge two things. First that our students are valuable, amazing, thriving people right now.  That sounds so basic, but sometimes we get so caught up what they will do when they ‘grow up’ that we forget that they are living right now and their lives and their experiences today matter.  Teaching them to be good citizens and joyful, well-rounded people now will help them well into the future. The second is that there are many paths to success and they are all valid.  We need to encourage students that there isn’t one ‘best’ or ‘acceptable’ path and that all the other paths are somehow the second-place choices.  This means actively providing counseling on a variety of paths depending on the student’s chosen post-graduation path. Jason Tompkins (inside township): I believe our schools should provide exposure to as many opportunities to various careers and professions as possible. Getting our young people thinking about these possibilities early on would a great motivation for them as they transition into young adults.  One of my principals growing up emphasized how incredibly important it was to set goals and work to achieve them. I am 45 years old and that still sticks with me today. We must help our students at every level possible. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Mental Health In fiscal year 2016, more than 20,000 Illinois youth — many of them elementary and high school students — were treated by a mental health agency, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. With a growing population, how do you propose the district provide an appropriate number of social workers within the school district? Julie Cebulski (outside township): Truthfully, as a social worker myself, I feel we could have multiple social workers in each grade to meet the needs of students. That’s not reasonable though! When speaking about mental health and substance abuse, I would propose that we be sure that our current social workers have the tools to meet the wide ranging needs of our students in this area.  There is always more to learn when it comes to meeting the needs and advocating for mental health services. Substance abuse is often the self-medication of an unmet mental health need.There are many high quality trainings available and ideally our social workers, support staff, faculty and parents can have opportunity to be trained to be knowledgeable of signs of mental illness and substance abuse. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):If we had an unlimited amount of money, this would be an easy question to answer, but we don’t.  I believe we need to address this on a human level. We have educators and professionals that interact with our kids and although we cannot provide unlimited social workers, we need to make sure that those we do have the proper support and tools to make an impact.  We might also think of expanding the training we provide to all teachers with respect to these issues. If we can increase the knowledge and support of the entire staff surrounding these issues, we can better serve our kids. Prioritizing behavior and mental health and looking for ways to integrate the approach to these issues into the training we provide to our teaching professionals might be one way to combat this complicated issue. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Mental health is a growing concern for this generation. The school district must be prepared to meet these challenges. There are several questions that need to be answered. How many social workers are appropriate for the number of students we have in our district? Is there funding available to hire more social workers? Does the State of Illinois have additional resources that may assist in caring for our students? How can we identify at risk students and prevent a crisis? This is also a community health issue that requires assistance from our local healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals. The State of Illinois has limited resources and local organizations may be able to help fill the gap. Ken Keefe (outside township): This is a big concern of mine. As I mentioned in an earlier question, the attempted suicide rate of Illinois students is alarming. High school students who feel depressed are twice as likely to harm themselves. Students are facing a whole range of pressures and challenges that didn’t concern previous generations. Like average class sizes, staffing a sufficient number of social workers fundamentally comes down to setting priorities and planning. If the board chooses to make the mental health of our students a high enough priority, they will be able to find the funds for necessary social workers. In order to develop a plan that identifies where we need to improve and how we can get there, I would want to meet with our current school social workers to understand their current workload. I would want to hear from parents and students to learn about if and how the district is serving the needs of our children. From this information and more from various stakeholders in the district, we can create a written plan that can hopefully effectively address the needs of our students. This is a plan that will need to be revisited and evolve over time. Having said all that, it is important to identify and clearly state the role of a public school system in mental health care. Just as our district nurse is not the appropriate person to treat a staph infection, a district social worker is not the appropriate person to treat a student’s ongoing mental health issues. Instead, school social workers should help families identify potential mental health issues that impact a student’s success in school, refer parents to appropriate mental healthcare professionals, and work to ensure that the school district is supporting the student’s treatment plan. There are many other roles for school social workers, but this is the primary one, in my opinion. Lance Raver (inside township):Mahomet-Seymour currently has a social worker in every building.  We are one of the few districts of our size to offer this resource.  We have been able to do this in part due to additional funds provided through the recently enacted Evidence Based Funding model.  We also offer mental health first aid training to our staff so that they can recognize students in need. The district has also added a behavioral coach and psychologist to assist in the types of issues described.  An additional counselor will also be added to the high school to allow more time for counselors to interact with students. The Evidence Based Funding model referenced above lays out the recommended number of professionals a district needs based on its particular demographics.  As the funding for this model evolves and increases this is an area that will definitely need to be considered for a portion of future funding increases. Colleen Schultz (inside township):The School District has unlimited wants with limited resources. My training as an economist helps me balance those two always present realities. There is no question that mental health and substance abuse is a growing issue for our young people, including kids in our school district. If elected to the school board, we will first need to evaluate the current services we offer in behavioral/social/mental health including our number of social workers and professionals.  If our research shows we need to provide more attention by way of personnel to this area, we, as a school board, will have to look at how we balance all of our priorities, including providing enough qualified professionals to tend to the needs of our students. There may also be an opportunity to work with the University of Illinois or Illinois State University and partner with their Social Work Programs to bring in additional services to the school district. Jason Tompkins (inside township): While I do not know all of the intricacies of mental health, I do know that the well-being of our students must be an extremely high priority.  As a board member, I would make certain that our administrators are fulfilling the requirements set to the district to make sure all students’ needs are being met.  Again, this is another area where it takes the student, their family, and the school district working together to do what is best for the person in need. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Goals How important do you think it is for the school board to have written goals and plans to achieve them? Should those plans be available to the public? Why or why not? Julie Cebulski (outside township): It is very important that the school board has a written plan so that their goals can be planned and accounted for.  The public should absolutely be able to view their goals and should be given updates on accomplishments or changes to the board’s plans. In my profession we use a book titled The 4 Disciplines of Execution.  The book’s philosophy helps team members develop well thought out long term goals called Wildly Important Goals (WIGS).  These goals help narrow the focus of leaders and clearly identify what must be accomplished. Lead measures are created to reach the WIGS.  It is a great model to realize what is most important and stay on track. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):My time as a process consultant taught me that what gets measured, gets managed.  Any organization that is trying to successfully roll out procedures and policy should do that with a foundation of clearly defined goals and priorities.  How else are you to know if you are making decisions that align with the organization’s purpose? When it comes to schools, these goals and plans are critical given the economic challenges that all schools face.  Because schools use taxpayer money and educate a community’s children, it is important that the goals and plans include 3 critical components. First, the should include input from the public, second, there should be a mechanism for measurement that are transparent and easy for the public to see, and finally, a feedback loop that is designed around gathering and responding to feedback from the community.  I feel that my background and experience with process design and implementation will be a valuable addition to the school board. I have years of professional experience setting strategic goals, developing and rolling out procedures and integrating meaningful metric analysis for organizations. I am excited at the opportunity to lend these skills to the Mahomet-Seymour community. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):The school board is currently developing a strategic plan which will require community engagement. Input from the parents, students, educators, business owners, and other community groups is vital to developing attainable and measurable goals for our school district. Please contact the Superintendent’s office if you would like to be involved. (586-2161 or lhall@ms.k12.il.us) Ken Keefe (outside township): I have been watching the board for quite a while and I really think their biggest problem is simply a failure to plan. The standing plan seems to be, let the superintendent, financial manager, principals, etc. handle the planning. Oh, and let’s write off anyone who questions the plan as someone who is just being negative. I think the school board has no greater responsibility than to plan. Illinois law agrees with me in the Illinois School Code. It is even right there in the oath of office of school board members. If a plan isn’t written down, there is no plan. Any plan should begin with a set of objectives or goals that the plan seeks to address. A plan should contain clear explanations of the methods for achieving each goal. A plan should also have clearly defined measures that will show the success or failure of the plan in achieving its goals. It is important that the success measures are built right into the plan so that the goal posts don’t move after the plan is implemented. As long as a plan does not deal with specific students or people, it should absolutely be made public. The school district is a public institution run by a publicly-elected body. I consider it basic transparency for written plans to be shared with the public. Furthermore, the plans should be very easily accessible. The board’s plans for bullying, facilities, financials, growth, education, curriculum, technology, transportation, and so on should be easy to find on the district website and print copies available in the district office. The plans should be written in easy to understand language so that the board’s bosses, the people, can evaluate them. In fact, I don’t just think that the plans should be publicly available. I believe that the data gathered to measure the success of a plan should also be available. Take bullying for example. In addition to having a public plan to address bullying at every level in our district, the board should release statistics and information about the prevalence of bullying and its effects. Data such as the number of reports from students, teachers, and parents, number of student absences because of bullying, number of injuries from bullying, etc. Of course, nothing personal or identifying should be included. Only the high-level data that can be used to measure the efficacy of our bullying plan. Lance Raver (inside township):In the last few weeks the school board has kicked off its most recent strategic planning and visioning initiative.  This process will include a series of meetings where all segments of the community are encouraged to get involved and provide feedback on what they would like to see from the district over the next several years.  The goal of this program will be to engage the public and have an open dialogue on what is important to them. By its very nature this will be a public process where the community is urged to be involved. I feel it is very important for the public to engage in this process and share their feedback and views. Colleen Schultz (inside township): If we don’t know where we are going, we are unlikely to get there. I believe that the board needs to be very intentional about their goals and have concrete, realistic plans to accomplish those goals.  I believe that not only should those plans be available to the public, but the discussions to establish those goals should be publicly conducted.  In the Board’s goals, our priorities as a district and as a community need to be well established and thus community input is a vital component of this process. I believe that both the goals and the evaluation of those goals need to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they continue to reflect the values and priorities of the community and ensure the goals are being implemented.  I also believe our goals as well as our board policies should be specific to our district and carefully crafted and considered to reflect what we value most. Jason Tompkins (inside township): I believe a board without goals and plans is a board without direction.  There has been recent discussion, in open session, about the board engaging with the community to strategically plan for the next phase of growth in our district.  This input from the community will be invaluable. As a board member, I stand ready to work with the community, administration, village officials and my fellow board members to map out the best future for all of us. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Foreign Language Many other districts in the area have expansive foreign language programs that start teaching kids a second language at a young age. This is an area that directly affects our student’s college readiness, as well as their world views. What are some of your ideas about practical ways we could expand our language programs? Julie Cebulski (outside township): I suggest we further our cultural awareness activities purposefully. We have many opportunities to expand our program to include cultural awareness and exploration in early grades, which is a foundation for enthusiasm and readiness in adolescence. Without adding costs, we can further expand and promote activities such as Hands Around the World and school events that share other cultures.Our school libraries hold books that promote other cultures and new purchases can help the cultural awareness section grow. At a minimal cost, we can reinstate the Intro to Foreign Language class that was at one time part of the Junior High curriculum. If cost was not a factor, adding an enrichment teacher in the lower grades would be ideal along with re-introduction of foreign language in the Junior High. Meghan Hennesy (inside township): My family and I just returned from Mexico which was our trip for spring break.  During this trip, I was able to practice the “el poco de Español recuerdo haber aprendido en la secundaria y en la secundaria.”  For those of you who don’t know, that means “the little Spanish I remember learning in Junior High and High School.” This experience emphasized for me the importance of communication when building relationships.  Just the little bit of Spanish I know allowed me to build friendships with the people we met at the resort and improved our overall ability to get where we needed to go. My boys did their best to communicate in Spanish as well, asking us how to say familiar phrases and doing their best to speak in Spanish everywhere we went.  It was rather amazing to see the impact our attempt at Spanish had with the native speakers we encountered. There was always a little more twinkle in their eyes, and a bigger smile on their faces even though I know we were making many mistakes; that didn’t seem to matter to them, the fact that we were trying was enough. The amazing thing was that our attempt at Spanish increased their comfort with trying to speak with us in English; like somehow, they were no longer afraid of making mistakes and we were able to focus on getting to know each other and build a relationship.  Our kids are growing up in a global world, where success will be, in part, measured by a person’s ability to easily build relationships with people all over the world – and language is what will facilitate that. So, what can we do? Language is easier to learn the younger you are. We should consider adding a language like Spanish as a special for K-5. We could make our classrooms bilingual by adding signs and bulletin boards with both English and Spanish. I believe we should consider moving foreign language to the Junior High as a core class; this would ensure any foreign language requirement that might be necessary for kids going on to college is fulfilled by all our students, and studies show that foreign language increases success in all subjects. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Foreign language education is available as a “zero” hour course option for Jr. High students. The high school does offer foreign language options throughout the day and AP classes. Online options may be a consideration if it is feasible and useful. This is a topic that needs to be addressed with our curriculum director and foreign language educators. Ken Keefe (outside township): I would very much like to see our district expand foreign language education. Research has shown that it 1. improves reading skills, 2. improves cognitive development, 3. improves memory, 4. improves problem solving skills, 5. connects students to the larger world, 6. makes it easier to learn additional languages, and the list goes on. In addition to foreign language learning, many of these benefits and the ideas I discuss below could apply toward including American sign language in our curriculum, which I would be in favor of! Please understand that the rest of my answer is seriously contingent on working through these ideas with the professional educators we have in our district. I would really need to sit down with a lot of teachers and administrators to work out the details. With that disclaimer firmly in place, I think a practical way we could expand our language programs is to try to embed it into our existing curriculum. When you look at what is taught in the first level of foreign language, it is the same things we are teaching our youngest students. If kindergarteners work on counting in both English and a foreign language, it can help them gain understanding of the original topic and gives them the many benefits I mentioned earlier. As second graders learn to tell time, they can reinforce their lesson by also doing it in a foreign language. It’s long been held that the best way to learn a language is through immersion, e.g. living in a foreign country. What if we had certain days that we as an entire district tried to immerse ourselves in a language and communicate only in that other language. Imagine the lessons a student could gain in empathy for others with disabilities that affect communication or people in our community whose primary language is not English. There are a ton of details that need to be worked out here. However, imagine what we could accomplish. Imagine students reaching level 2 competency by the time they reach high school. Students could explore multiple languages in high school or complete their personal foreign language goals that much faster so that they have room in their schedule for the many elective courses our high school offers. We also may end up raising a generation that can better communicate and empathize with their neighbor. Lance Raver (inside township):The foreign language options that Mahomet-Seymour offers do an excellent job of exposing our children to additional languages and cultures while also preparing them to further their education after high school if this is an area where they have a passion.  Five of our nieces are Mahomet-Seymour graduates and four of them ultimately went on to further their foreign language studies at the college level. One of them is currently an English as a Second Language teacher in a public school. All of them received an excellent foundation while at M-S and I am very comfortable with the programs we currently offer which include zero hour for our 8th graders and a fifth year AP offering for seniors. Colleen Schultz (inside township): Foreign language is beneficial to students for many reasons.  Learning a second (or third!) language helps a student to more easily communicate in our increasingly global society.  Studying a language also helps with math development and so much more. It’s widely understood that the younger a student is, the easier it is for that student to learn a foreign language.  Teaching languages early has this benefit along with the benefit of allowing students to advance to a higher level in their language development if desired. One practical way to expand our language programs would be to push the first three years of foreign language down to the junior high.  If all students would take (I’ll just use Spanish as my example) Spanish 1, 2, and 3 in junior high, students would only need one year of Spanish in high school to complete the fourth level (a common requirement for colleges.)  This would permit students to have more flexibility to take classes that pique their interest in high school. In addition, students who struggle with languages due to their preferences or to learning challenges will be able to take three years of foreign language without impacting their high school GPA. In addition to complete foreign language taught in the junior high, we could also add foreign language in as a ‘special’ in the younger grades. Jason Tompkins (inside township): I believe that our administration and professional educators need to work each an everyday to create an environment for our students that leads to their personal success.  This is a team effort involving the student, their family and the teachers that work with them each day. Understanding the goals of the student and helping them achieve that is something that our school district should never stop working on. 2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Conflicts of Interest In a small community like ours, there can be many conflicts of interest while serving on the school board. What conflicts of interest do you feel you have and how will you ensure that you avoid any of these conflicts of interest while serving on the board? All candidates were given six days to answer the questions. The Mahomet Daily did not receive answers from Jenny Park, a candidate outside of the township. Park will not be mentioned within the answers again, but is listed here to show that she does not have any conflicts of interest listed on the petitions she submitted to the Champaign County Clerk’s office. Julie Cebulski (outside township): My husband is an English teacher at the high school. I plan to abstain from teacher contract negotiations. I would abstain from any staff related issues that would be deemed a conflict of interest. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):As Chairman of the Board for the Sangamon Valley Water District, I understand the policy and procedures for disclosing any conflict of interest.  With respect to a role as a School Board Member, I do not have any conflict of interest that would impact my duties in this role. Both of my boys attend Mahomet-Seymour schools, but that is the extent of our ties to the district. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Board policy 2:100 addresses the issue of conflict of interest. Each board member has a responsibility to report any potential conflicts of interest related to the business or contracts of the school district. I don’t have any current business interests or investments that would qualify as a conflict of interest. EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeremy Henrichs works for Carle Sports Medicine, which has a contract with the Mahomet-Seymour School District. Ken Keefe (outside township):I have no professional or financial conflicts of interest. The closest thing that I can think of that might be considered a conflict of interest is that I have children attending school in the district. I have an 8th grader, a kindergartener, and a 3-month-old. In the event that a matter regarding one of my children would come before the board (e.g., a significant discipline issue), I would certainly recuse myself from the discussion and the vote. Lance Raver (inside township):In my professional career I am frequently put in situations where there are potential conflicts of interest.  I handle school board conflict of interest situations the same way I do at work. This process involves disclosing to relevant parties the real or potential conflict and excusing myself from the decision making process. EDITOR’S NOTE: Lance Raver’s wife is a teacher within the Mahomet-Seymour School District. Colleen Schultz (inside township):I do not feel I have any conflicts of interest when it comes to serving on the school board.  Aside from my two children attending Mahomet-Seymour schools, I have no ties to the district, nor do I financially benefit, directly or indirectly, from school dealings. Jason Tompkins (inside township): Professional business practices and personal character preservation will be guiding principles that I will use if elected to the Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education to avoid any and all possible conflicts of interest. EDITOR’S NOTE: When Tompkins filed his petition signatures with the Champaign County Clerk’s office, he listed that his role as General Manager at Bendsens Signs and Graphics as a conflict of interest. The Mahomet-Seymour School District frequently does business with this organization.     2019 Mahomet-Seymour Candidate Discussion: Bullying What is the district currently doing to address bullying issues? Does the approach need to change? If so, why and how? If not, why? Julie Cebulski (outside township):The district has a standard Bullying Prevention and Response policy. The board policy states, “The Superintendent or designee shall develop and maintain a bullying prevention and response plan that advances the District’s goal of providing all students with a safe learning environment free of bullying and harassment.” Staff and administration are to respond appropriately to complaints of bullying. To the best of my knowledge, the district has not held any staff training to address bullying and there is no protocol to respond or identify bullying. There are many proactive programs available to prevent bullying.  I would like to see the district research and endorse a research based bullying prevention program.  The protocol should be shared and discussed openly with students and parents. I also believe that the program that is chosen should incorporate our amazing student mentor program at the high school. The student mentor program is a great start, but as I talk to parents in our community it is not enough.  We have students that are victims and I am not okay with that. Meghan Hennesy (inside township):Bullying is a complicated and ever-expanding issue for us as a society.  Part of the reason I pursued a degree in psychology is that I have a love of people and relationships and so understanding how people and relationships work has always been important to me.  When it comes to the topic of bullying, for me, at the core, is a focus on how we interact with each other and how we teach our kids about what it means to be a good citizen of the world. So many nights our family dinner table discussions center around issues my boys are having with friends or teachers and how they felt about how someone treated them that day. It is a constant discussion we have where we focus on trying to understand why a person might say or do something, what our role is in the situation and how we might do things differently.  For me, our approach to bullying should be integrated into our curriculum, and there are several researched based Tier I behavioral curriculums we could implement:  Second Step, Leader in Me, Character Education and Mind Up to name a few.  In addition, we need the discussion about behavior to continue all the way through 12^th grade.  If our culture becomes one that focuses on relationships and the importance of personal responsibility including what you are adding to the environment as a criterion for academic success, then we go a long way towards changing bullying behavior.  Adults need to show through their actions and behavior that these behaviors are as important as any test score. We can do this by giving as much attention to these behaviors as we do to test scores. A focus on good citizenship ensures we are building kids that go into the world and realize that they leave marks in all of their interactions that have the ability to change the world for the better. Jeremy Henrichs (outside township):Every parent should expect the school district to provide a safe learning environment for their student. Each student should feel welcome as an integral piece of the school community. Any harassment or bullying will not be tolerated. School board policy 7:180 addresses bullying and cyberbullying. If there are problems with how this policy is implemented or if it is failing our students, then the superintendent and school board needs to hear the details. Policies and procedures can and will change based on new information. Ken Keefe (outside township): The first question is hard to address. There doesn’t seem to be a clear vision for what must be done about bullying and how we can get there. The board likes to talk about the importance of social-emotional learning and how it is a focus of the district. However, when you look farther than that label, it becomes clear that there is no district-wide plan for really addressing bullying. Let’s talk about the good first. There are MANY teachers and administrators doing great things in a patchwork approach to combat bullying. I love that my daughter’s kindergarten teacher is constantly using the cup of water analogy for teaching children about kind and hurtful actions. Sharing free-time toys with a friend adds water to their cup and teasing someone puts a hole in the side. I’ve been delighted to use the analogy in our own home when talking about the good or bad choices my daughter makes. However, when I have mentioned this to other parents, I get blank stares. At a campaign town hall meeting, a citizen brought up how the district used to have a centralized approach using six pillars of behavior. The approach was something the kids were taught at an early age and reconnected with throughout their K-12 education. Let me be clear that the board should not independently develop an anti-bullying campaign and push it off on the teachers. The board should ask teachers and administrators to work together to form a clear and practical plan for the entire district. Teachers are the ones in the trenches. They know the bullying that is happening. They know the underlying reasons. They will have the solutions. The administration must support and coordinate the approaches, and get every adult on the same page, including lunch workers, janitors, office staff, volunteers, etc. The school board must hold them accountable by requiring a written plan and measuring success with real data from students, parents, and staff. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 47,000 students reported attempting suicide in 2015 alone. Bullying is one of the biggest risk factors for suicide. The importance of ending bullying cannot be understated. The school board must lead on this effort, for the sake of our children. Lance Raver (inside township):The district provides many tools to address the issue of bullying.  Staff are provided training developed by experts and offered state wide which includes a test that must be passed to show proficiency in this area.  The district also uses positive behavioral interventions and supports which are evidence based and shown to be effective. Additionally, a responsive classroom program is in place for our kindergarten through fifth graders and restorative practices are used in grades 6-12.   For more elevated issues social workers are involved, the school resource officer is used and mentoring is available. Colleen Schultz (inside township): Bullying is a complicated and difficult problem to address.  It’s my understanding that the district has a direct plan where they talk with students about bullying prevention.  These programs are needed and I believe we should keep directly talking with students about appropriate behavior. An additional issue we need to consider is the issue of the hidden curriculum we ‘teach’.  The hidden curriculum is made up of the lessons we inadvertently but indelibly teach students by our actions, responses and the things we don’t say. When students report bullying and we don’t take it seriously or intervene on their behalf, we are really teaching them that bullying is okay.  When one student is about to bully another and a third student steps in to stop the bullying and we suspend that third student, we are teaching that it’s not right to stop bullying. Kids learn a lot by what we say, but even more by what we do.  If we want to address bullying we need to have no tolerance for bullying of any kind by any person and that includes the grownups. Jason Tompkins (inside township): Bullying has no place at Mahomet-Seymour or any school district for that matter.  I believe the introduction of a school resource officer (SRO) has increased a level of security in our buildings, especially at the high school level.  Our administrators and teachers must acknowledge bullying when it is happening and address it. Finally, we need to continue to focus on building an environment of respect amongst our student population.  Not only will this diminish bullying, but it will also create a healthier and more productive learning atmosphere.