Ellen Rosenfeld (District 4)

Section 1 - Basic Information & General Questions

Candidate's Name  Ellen Rosenfeld

District 4

Campaign link  ellenforeducation.org

Are you a current or recent CPS parent, grandparent, or guardian/caregiver? CPS parent

Are you a CPS graduate? No

Have you ever served on a Local School Council (LSC)? Yes

Have you ever served on a Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)? No

Have you ever served on a Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC)?  No

Have you ever served on a Community Action Council (CAC)?  No

Have you ever worked in a CPS school? Yes

How long have you lived in the district you are running to represent? 19 years

Describe your CPS experience. 

I started working in CPS as a 3rd grade teacher at Dulles Elementary School. Later, I moved on to Hartigan Elementary. These were both under-resourced schools and I experienced firsthand the ways in which CPS struggles to adequately serve students and families in those communities.All four of my kids attended CPS schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, including my youngest daughter, who currently attends Whitney Young. While raising my children, I remained engaged with CPS by working as a substitute teacher and joining the Local School Council at Bell Elementary, where all of my kids went to elementary school. While serving on the Bell LSC, I was elected Chairwoman and also was appointed to the Local School Council Advisory Board. Currently, I work full-time again for CPS, this time as a staff member in the central office. In my role as a Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Specialist, I am responsible for helping CPS families on the northwest side of the city engage more with their children’s education. 

Why are you running for the Board of Education? 

I have spent my entire adult life working as an advocate for our students and Chicago Public Schools. I care deeply about ensuring every child has access to a high-quality education. I am the best candidate in the 4th district because I understand Chicago Public Schools from the inside out. I have seen what CPS gets right and where they need to improve. I have witnessed children and families thrive at CPS while others struggle.My diverse experiences as a teacher, parent, LSC member, and CPS employee have provided me with a deep understanding of the complexities and opportunities within the education system, particularly in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Serving on the Board of Education would be the perfect way to marry the knowledge I have earned with my sincere desire to improve student outcomes across CPS. It would provide me with the opportunity to use my experiences and insights to make a broader impact on education policy and practices for all of our students. My ultimate goal is to bring forward solutions that will improve educational outcomes for all students in CPS, and I am committed to working tirelessly towards this goal.

What is the most pressing challenge our district is facing? 

There are many issues challenging our district right now like huge budget gaps, busing for all kids, mental health challenges of our families, rigorous, culturally relevant curriculums and teacher shortages. The BOE must take a deep look at the experiences our students are having in our schools. Another extremely pressing challenge our district faces is the inequality between schools in more affluent areas and those in under-resourced neighborhoods. This often leads to problems across the district like inequitable access to funding, disparity in program offerings and problems with facilities. As a result of all of these challenges, there are gaps in educational opportunities for students. As a member of the Board I will ensure that all schools in CPS have access to the resources, support, and infrastructure they need to succeed. It’s critical that the Board focuses on these challenges to ensure every student in the district has the chance to thrive academically and personally.

Section 2 - Board Responsibilities & Commitments

How will you interact with CPS students and families in your district to ensure that the voices of the most impacted are heard and understood?

My current job as a FACE Specialist has allowed me opportunity to engage with CPS families for the last 8 years. have heard the voices of our stakeholders and I will be their voice on the BOE. I will engage with the CPS community in District 4 first and foremost by listening: to students, parents, teachers, principals, community-based organizations, and stakeholders. Every school in our district is different, and the only way for me to help solve the challenges they face is by hearing about them from the grassroots. This means that when considering a new policy or major decision, I will actively seek input from a cross-section of principals, parents, and faculty from schools and communities affected by that policy. I will make a point of soliciting input from LSC members, whom I know from experience are often some of the best advocates for the rights and needs of teachers and should be an active part of board meetings and listening sessions. I will regularly attend LSC meetings in my district to ensure constant contact with the issues affecting District 4 students and families. 

What specific actions will you take to address and repair the historical harms within Chicago Public Schools, and how will you ensure that students, parents, and educators are actively engaged in the healing and trust-building process?

I will use an approach that builds trust and encourages commitment and collaboration across the entire district. I will begin by acknowledging historical harms. I will engage with groups of stakeholders that will include students, parents, teachers, principals, community members, and board members. Together we will learn more about and review past injustices like discriminatory practices, inequitable school funding, hiring practices and culturally relevant curriculums. Eventually, all of the information I learn will be shared via reports and school board meetings. In addition, I will implement policies that address systemic inequities. As a board member, I will build trust and healing by creating channels for continual feedback from all stakeholders to ensure that their voices are heard and we can respond to feedback in a timely manner. 

What is your understanding of the Board’s relationship with Local School Councils? How will you collaborate  with LSCs in your district?

The Board needs to take a more active role in incorporating the input of the LSCs. As the Board member for District 4, I will attend a meeting of each school’s LSC and will use this time to formally update the LSC as to my work on the Board and listen to the problems and solutions the LSC discusses. Having served as the Chair of an LSC and on the LSCAB, I know how critical collaboration with the district is. I will use my experience to maintain a working relationship with the Chair of each LSC and strive to keep them all up-to-date and well-informed about the issues handled by the Board. In addition, I will periodically organize a roundtable of LSC chairs and invite them all to attend so that I can hear their perspectives in a more communal setting. I will use the awareness I gain from these interactions to inform my votes and decisions on the Board to ensure that I can continuously serve the best interests of the students and families in District 4.

List the Board committees you intend to join and describe any new Board committees you will propose.

I intend to join the Early Childhood Committee or the Workforce and Development Committee. I have been thinking about proposing a Community Equity and Inclusion Committee and a Mental Health and Wellness Committee. I want to be on and create committees that speak to challenges in our schools and focus on more support for students, families, and educators.

How will you prioritize your time to ensure you give your role on the Board of Education the attention it deserves?

If elected, I will consistently prioritize my work on the Board of Education. As any parent of children with a full-time job knows, organizing our time is the key to a successful family. I know time management has always had to be top-of-mind. I will set a schedule with designated blocks of time for board-related duties, community engagement, and personal commitments. I can maintain focus and productivity by keeping track of meetings, school visits, and other tasks by maintaining a BOE calendar. I will include the tasks that are both required and the ones that I prioritize, such as connecting with parents, schools, LSC members, principals, and other stakeholders.

Section 3 - Budget & Facilities

What are your thoughts on the current proposed district budget for SY24-25? As a board member, where would you look to increase funding and where would you make budget cuts?

The current proposed district budget for SY24-25 presents both challenges and opportunities. I know that developing a district budget will be one of the most important tasks that I will complete on the BOE. Ultimately, my goal will be to ensure that the budget is balanced, strategic, transparent and focused on ensuring a positive impact on students, teachers, and families while eliminating inefficiencies. I am looking forward to learning more about the opportunity index that was used to develop the SY24-25 budget. I will always advocate for investing in teacher development and classroom resources to support high-quality instruction. I will look at every dollar spent and make sure we are focusing on student experiences and student outcomes. Ensuring equitable distribution of funds across schools will also be a focus for me.

Funding for CPS is in a particularly precarious situation due to state shortages to Evidence-Based Funding (EBF), the end of pandemic funding, and more. What would you prioritize when facing these overwhelming budget realities?

I would prioritize the need to find alternative sources of revenue for CPS schools so that they do not depend so heavily on property taxes. One of the first things I will do is a complete forensic accounting of how the nearly $10 billion budget is being spent. I will also prioritize transparency so that CPS families and other stakeholders can have a better sense of how exactly the CPS budget is being spent. My ultimate objective as a member of the Board will be to help foster more equitable outcomes for students across all schools without taking resources away from schools that are already using them well.

What experience do you have with complicated budgets?

I have experience managing budgets through my role as Chair of the Local School Council (LSC).This involved overseeing the school's budget, ensuring funds were allocated efficiently, and making decisions in alignment with the needs of the school and its community. I know that a $10 billion budget is going to be very complicated but I am up for the task and have been reaching out to experts and researching educational opportunities to learn.

What will you do to ensure equitable and transparent funding for neighborhood schools?

As a Board member, I will conduct a full, in-depth accounting of the CPS budget and how it is being spent. To ensure equitable and transparent funding for neighborhood schools I will increase transparency by ensuring that budget processes are clear and accessible to the public, so that parents, educators, and community members understand how funds are being distributed and used. Regular financial audits and public reporting will be key to maintaining accountability. Finally, I will investigate the idea of participatory budgeting to allow communities to have a direct say in how some of their school’s funds are allocated.

Many parents have expressed an urgent need for capital improvements in their schools. What steps will you take to ensure that schools have functioning facilities, particularly bathrooms and water fountains?

I will prioritize visiting schools with an urgent need for capital improvements and speak to their stakeholders. Ensuring that schools have functioning bathrooms, water fountains, and other essential facilities is a top priority. Through a comprehensive approach that includes conducting a facilities audit, advocating for increased capital funding, streamlining repairs, engaging the community, and implementing long-term planning—I am committed to addressing the urgent needs of our schools. Every student deserves to learn in a clean, safe, and functional environment, and I will work tirelessly to make that a reality for all schools. I want CPS to adopt a more proactive approach to facilities management by addressing facilities before they fall into disrepair. I will advocate for a long-term facilities plan that includes regular maintenance schedules, early identification of potential issues, and a commitment to making continuous improvements. By taking a proactive approach, we can prevent the issues currently hurting our schools in the district and ensure that our facilities stay in good condition for years to come.

Bussing challenges have a long and fraught history in CPS. The last few years have been particularly difficult for special education students, as well as those who attend magnet and selective enrollment schools. Given CPS’s recently announced plans for the coming school year, How do you plan to address the ongoing school bussing challenges and ensure that all students have reliable, safe, and equitable transportation to and from school? 

Addressing the ongoing school bussing challenges in CPS, particularly for special education students and those attending magnet and selective enrollment schools, is crucial to ensuring equitable access to education. I will prioritize a plan to tackle this issue. I want to start by acknowledging driver shortages. CPS must offer competitive wages, benefits, and incentives, such as signing bonuses, to attract and retain qualified bus drivers. Additionally, we have to work with city colleges or workforce development programs to create a pipeline for training and licensing new bus drivers and collaborate with our CTE program already in high schools to offer training and licensing new bus drivers. I will push for the use of data analytics and routing technology to improve bus route efficiency. Another goal of mine is to collaborate with groups like CPS Parents for Busses, which have done a lot of research on this topic. 

Section 4 - Educational Programs & Academic Success

How do you define a quality education?

A high-quality education goes way beyond academic achievement. It empowers students to become critical thinkers, problem-solvers, compassionate human beings, and engaged citizens. I believe it starts with access to equitable resources. Every student deserves well-trained teachers, safe and clean functioning facilities, and a culturally relevant, challenging curriculum. I know that the highest quality education will also address emotional intelligence, creativity, and civic responsibility. A quality education emphasizes mastery of core subjects like math, science, and language arts, and skills in collaboration and communication. We must prepare students for a rapidly changing world by teaching them how to learn and adjust rather than just memorize facts. We should teach students to use technology while also teaching them essential human skills like empathy and resilience. By blending academic rigor with holistic development, a quality education prepares students for lifelong success. 

What is the role of the Board of Education in ensuring quality educational programs for all students regardless of their background, zip code, or school type?

The Board of Education plays a crucial role in holding CPS and its personnel accountable for the results they deliver. By approving the budget and capital improvement plan, the Board is the ultimate authority on how CPS spends its almost $10 billion budget, which means it has the power to shape how resources are used to improve and maintain the quality of every child’s education. The Board is responsible for setting and approving continuous improvement plans, so the Board members who are dedicated to their role can determine for themselves whether these plans are being met and question CPS administrators if they are not. The Board also sets the goals, direction, and priorities of CPS and can exercise leverage over the achievement of these outcomes by recruiting and dismissing the CEO, who in turn is responsible for turning the Board’s goals into concrete realities. In short, the Board’s role is to hold CPS to the high standards it sets for itself through its budgetary and policy making powers. 

What are your views on the roles of neighborhood, selective enrollment, magnet, and charter schools within CPS? Please address each type of school in your answer.

Every CPS school has a place in the system, and every family should be able to send each of their children to the school that is right for them. It is the basic right of every child in Chicago to go to a school in their community where they can learn a culturally relevant curriculum that challenges them and expands their minds. Neighborhood schools are the backbone of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and I believe they should be well-funded and supported to ensure every child, regardless of zip code, receives a high-quality education. These schools serve as vital community hubs, and we must invest in them. Selective enrollment, magnet, and charter schools offer unique educational opportunities. Selective enrollment and magnet schools provide specialized programs that can challenge high-achieving students, while charter schools can experiment with innovative teaching models. All schools must be transparent, accountable, and equitable so that they do not exacerbate inequality or drain resources.

How should the Board approach charter oversight and accountability?

Charter schools and contract alternative schools combine to teach over 17% of the kids in CPS. As a board member, I will work to ensure that all schools, regardless of their designation, have equal oversight and accountability. Many of the charter schools are alternative schools and they have a place in our system because we have to find the right school for every child. Charters will be held to the same accountability and oversight as all CPS schools

The initial recommendations of the Black Student Success Working Group were shared earlier this summer. Which of those recommendations will be most important to incorporate into the district’s strategic plan and why?

All of the recommendations made by the BSSWG are important to incorporate and are closely connected to some of my top priorities- student mental health, equitable school funding, and school safety are SDE1 (Develop culturally responsive curriculum and instruction by integrating curricula that include local Chicago history, experiential learning with Black professors, and other elements), SDE2 (Wrap-around services with a priority on mental health services, centering the experiences of students affected by trauma including racial trauma), and SDE4 (Improving educational access, opportunities, and experiences by adopting and implementing enhanced technological systems, developing facilities quality standards, and using excess space). These matter because they shape the educational experience of Black students in a very basic way: the things they learn, the spaces and tools in which they learn, and the services that are provided in those buildings. These are the fundamentals of education, and they need to be well-supported.

How will you work to ensure special education assessments and placements are more timely and equitable? 

Ensuring timely and equitable special education assessments and placements is crucial to providing all students with the support they need to succeed. So often, administrative demands impede the speed of productivity, so I will begin by streamlining the assessment process. My priority is to set clear timelines that hold schools accountable for completing assessments. All schools must adhere strictly to the 60-day evaluation timeline mandated by federal law. Finally, I will prioritize early intervention and universal screenings in early grades so we can identify learning differences earlier in a child's education instead of waiting for help in the later years.

What should the Board board do to guarantee students are receiving all of their required IEP minutes?

Every school should have a full-time case manager and social worker to work with students and the families of students with disabilities. Helping parents navigate the system has been an important part of my job at CPS as a teacher and now as a FACE Specialist. I will always elevate the parents' voice and increase trust by including them in decisions that affect their children. Partnering with parents and being transparent with budgets will be a top priority for me. Also, we need to offer better training for teachers and social workers so we can hire and retain the best and offer better career pathways for these professionals. Rather than outsourcing some of the programs we use to work with our students, I will push to create programs and address student needs internally.

In 2021, even before the recent influx of asylum seekers, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) put CPS on a corrective action plan because the district was out of compliance with bilingual education requirements. To date, CPS still fails to staff bilingual programs and certified bilingual teachers at all schools that need them. What steps would you advocate for the district to take to solve this problem?

The goal of any bilingual education is to ensure our students will be able to listen, speak, read, and write proficiently in both languages. I support a dual-language approach to bilingual education. This is effective because it brings together native speakers of both languages in the same classroom. As more families join the CPS community, this approach will not only foster language learning, but also promote multicultural understanding. I will prioritize helping many more of our CPS schools become dual-language academies.

How would you advocate for the reinstatement of comprehensive art, music, and library programs to our schools? 

I am passionate about reinstating comprehensive art, music, and library programs becasue they are essential to a well-rounded education. To advocate for this, I will start by engaging in conversation with parents and other stakeholders . Many parents already see the value in these programs, and their voices can be powerful in advocating for change. I will share research with fellow board members showing how the arts positively impact academic performance, attendance, and student engagement. I will explore creative funding solutions, such as grants, partnerships with local arts organizations, and corporate sponsorships. The arts, music, and libraries are an extremely important part of our children’s education, and it is important that every child, no matter which CPS school they attend, has access to a vibrant arts and music program and a strong school library.

Section 5 - School Culture

What do you believe is the role of the Board in fostering a culture of belonging for every CPS student?

The Board sets the tone for the general culture of CPS through its power to establish the district’s goals and priorities. This goes beyond just approving plans and resolutions. Through its power to approve contracts, purchasing decisions, and the budget, the Board has genuine influence over the direction CPS takes in terms of establishing the culture experienced by students. It is essential that each school have the autonomy to develop its own culture, so the Board should not attempt to overreach and fine-tune things at particular schools. However, the Board needs to take a birds-eye-view of the trends it wants to set by continually examining the available data and expecting accountability from CPS for the educational results it delivers, including the safety of students, service delivery, and student mental health. The Board should take it upon itself to re-evaluate its relationships with vendors and contractors who fail to meet the District’s expectations and who contribute to adverse cultures at CPS schools. The Board should also use its influence over the budget to re-evaluate culture-setting programs that are not delivering the desired results and redirect resources as it sees fit to those that are. This is how the Board can use its power to effect long-term, wide-ranging changes at CPS schools.

What are specific steps you will propose to increase in-school mental health support for our children? 

It is important, especially since the pandemic, that CPS continue to support and promote the development of behavioral health teams at individual schools. Most CPS schools have one, but not all teams are staffed by individuals with the background or bandwidth to be truly effective in their roles. Every school should have a behavioral specialist, social worker, and restorative practices coordinator. As I push the Board to search for new sources of funding to close the gaps between underperforming and well-performing schools, I will ensure that the district considers it a top priority to fill the vacancies. 

What policies do you propose to help stop bullying in CPS schools?

As a board member, I will push for the BOE to solicit the information from our stakeholders to see how bullying is being handled. I will also ask the Office of Student Protection for hard data on instances of reported bullying and identify areas where bullying is especially rampant. Most importantly, because I have successfully run a Parent University in CPS, I plan to increase programming at our Parent Universities to teach parents how they can help, at home, identify and prevent in person and cyber bullying,

What specific steps will you take to address and reduce racial bias in our schools, both in terms of pedagogy, curriculum, and disciplinary practices?

The racial bias that exists in our schools is a complex problem that requires complex solutions. One highly important step is for each school to adopt a culturally responsive curriculum that is right for its students by engaging feedback from parents and incorporating elements that fight back against bias, including experiential learning with professionals of diverse racial backgrounds and culturally relevant history and social studies courses. CPS should also teach conflict resolution to promote disciplinary practices that steer students away from the court system, and school faculty should be trained in the causes, effects, and impacts of implicit racial bias to mitigate its effects on pedagogy. 

Students who report sexual assault and violence in CPS schools often feel that their voices are not heard. What is your approach to ensuring meaningful accountability and what will you do to ensure that this type of violence stops?

Ensuring that students who report sexual assault and violence in CPS schools are heard and supported is a top priority. My approach centers on accountability, transparency, and safety. I will advocate for strengthening CPS policies to ensure that every report of sexual assault is taken seriously and handled with urgency. This includes mandating clear reporting processes and timelines so that students and their families know exactly what steps will be taken and when. We must implement comprehensive education around consent, healthy relationships, and reporting mechanisms with mandatory, age-appropriate training for both students and staff so that everyone knows how to recognize and report sexual assault and violence. Finally, accountability is of the utmost importance. I will advocate for transparent investigations and regular updates to students and families involved. This will ensure all voices are heard throughout the process.

How do you plan to ensure that LGBT+ students are protected and supported in CPS, both in anti-discrimination policy and inclusive curricula?

It is crucial that every CPS school provides a safe and welcoming environment for all students who identify as LGBT+. LGBT+ students in CPS (as well as around the country) are disproportionately likely to experience bullying, violence, substance abuse issues, and adverse mental health, and the Board must be active participants in addressing this. Surveys have found that, in general, CPS students would like for their schools to approach LGBT+ adjacent topics in a more inclusive way than they currently do, including by incorporating such subjects into the sex-ed curriculum and a more holistic coverage of sexuality. As a Board member, I will push for CPS to adopt guidelines for the teaching of LGBT+ adjacent topics that integrate the perspectives of LGBT+ individuals and communities. I will also work to investigate the extent to which CPS has met the goal set in 2019 of having a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) established in every school. If it has not, I will push for the Board to provide more support to students and teachers within schools who want to start one. I will also promote the OUT program, which encourages faculty members to identify themselves to students as allies of the LGBT+ community. I will work with the other Board members to make progress on these aims not just in District 4 but throughout CPS.

Is there anything you would change about the recently adopted Whole School Safety plan? What can the Board do to ensure its implementation?

The Whole School Safety plan is a big step in the right direction, but there is still more to be done. School safety doesn’t just mean safe passage in and out of the building and a school that is free from criminal activity. It involves fostering an environment where teachers feel secure in their roles and where students feel safe to learn. I will focus on enhancing community involvement in the Whole School Safety plan, ensuring that parents, students, and local organizations have a say in its implementation. The Board can ensure successful execution by increasing transparency, regularly reviewing data on school safety metrics, and allocating resources to schools based on their specific needs, including mental health services and restorative justice programs. Additionally, ongoing training for staff and collaboration with local experts will be an important part of its success.