Felix Ponce (District 8)

Section 1 - Basic Information & General Questions

Candidate's Name: Felix Ponce

District 8

Campaign link : https://www.felixfordistrict8.com/

Are you a current or recent CPS parent, grandparent, or guardian/caregiver? None

Are you a CPS graduate? No

Have you ever served on a Local School Council (LSC)?  No

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?

8 Years

Describe your CPS experience. 

I was the founding band director at Back of the Yards College Prep and was there for 7 years. When I was hired, I was asked to start a real band program and was shown to my empty classroom - no instruments and no budget. I started with the most accessible instruments I could think of - buckets and drumsticks. We fought every year for donations and grants, even volunteering at events like the Chicago marathon to build up our budget. In 7 short years, I was able to create a robust International Baccalaureate music program with three levels of band, drumline, color guard, jazz ensemble, and mariachi group. I’m happy to share that many of my former students continue to play even after I left and the community looks forward to their mariachi performances at local events. At the district level, I worked for the All-City Performing Arts program where I coached two different levels of band. I also collaborated with other music teachers across the district by improving REACH performance tasks as well as being a member on the Music Festivals Committee.

Why are you running for the Board of Education? 

I want to create a CPS that has fully funded schools that support community growth. As a former music educator in the district, I have experience with struggling to provide basic supplies and instruments so students could participate in the arts. I have experience seeing students struggle with mental health because the social worker they see is only available once a week and is overworked. I have experience being at a school where the nurse is only available once a week. I also have experience seeing students flourish in sports, clubs and extracurriculars. School is more than just academics, and I want to provide a music educator perspective to the board's decisions to ensure we are supporting the whole child.

What is the most pressing challenge our district is facing? 

The funding gap CPS is subjected to is the biggest challenge. According to the state's evidence- based funding formula, the current allocation only meets 75% of the district's needs. We need to push the state to provide the more than 1.4 billion dollars in funding that they say we are owed. I experienced this as a music educator who was asked to start a band program without any funding. Our students deserve the very best and 75% funded is not good enough.

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?

I won’t be able to do my job as a board member without interacting with the communities I will be serving. As such, my goal is to visit already existing meeting spaces from local organizations and also hosting forums to make sure I hear from as many of my district. I also intend to engage with others via social media, emails, and other forms of communication as indicated by my district.

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?

Candidate declined to answer.

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

There does not seem to be a strong partnership and I plan on creating spaces for these groups to share their needs so that I can best serve them. There needs to be a formal process for LSC’s to communicate with the board so that we can make decisions that are actually reflective of the school communities needs. 

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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

I love to be organized, finding the time won’t be an issue. I want to ensure the CPS my son enters is one that is better than today, he is my strongest motivator to give this position the attention it deserves.

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 funding gap CPS is subjected to is a big challenge. According to the state's evidence- based funding formula, the current allocation only meets 75% of the district's needs. We need to push the state to provide the more than 1.4 billion dollars in funding that they say we are owed. I experienced this as a music educator who was asked to start a band program without any funding. Our students deserve the very best and 75% funded is not good enough.

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?

Candidate declined to answer.

What experience do you have with complicated budgets?

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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?

Candidate declined to answer.

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? 

We need to stand behind our students with disabilities and ensure that their families don’t have to worry about getting their child to school. We must prioritize fulfilling our obligations as required by state and federal laws. However, we also need to ask why maintaining reliable bus service is a challenge. Why are there staffing shortages? How can we address the root cause of the problem to support diverse learners and general education students? CPS and CTU recently collaborated to win a grant for 50 district owned electric buses, creating a centralized fleet whereas we currently don’t have one. We need to build on this win with more vehicles to ensure we can effectively and efficiently deploy our transportation resources without being beholden to an outside company.

Section 4 - Educational Programs & Academic Success

How do you define a quality education?

Candidate declined to answer.

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?

Fighting for equity for all students is not a side project but rather the duty and primary responsibility of the board. All students in this country are entitled to a free and appropriate public education and it is our responsibility as stewards to both attempt to achieve this goal and continuously improve our operations as we do. 

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.

Candidate declined to answer.

How should the Board approach charter oversight and accountability?

Candidate declined to answer.

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?

CPS has taken a strong step forward by bringing together the Black Student Success Working Group. Many of the recommendations made by this group are also pillars in my platform and can build on existing programs to reduce ramp up time. For example, we should invest in and scale up CTE programs, the Sustainable Community Schools model that brings wrap-around services to the district, and ensure that we have fully staffed schools with appropriate caseloads for social workers and case managers, and support that can retain Black teachers. We also need to look at our buildings portfolio - the average age of CPS buildings is 84 years old and this is unacceptable for our students. We have many closed and vacant buildings that were promised to be redeveloped yet remain a nuisance to the community. We need to retrofit and upgrade our school buildings and find positive ways to repurpose CPS buildings that are currently closed and keep the same process from being repeated.

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

CPS needs to fully staff schools. It is going to be impossible to truly support diverse learners when our schools are missing case managers, TAs, SECAs, bilingual Special Education teachers, speech pathologists, social workers and clinicians in every specialty. In order for diverse learners and all students to succeed, schools need to have all the support staff they need everyday. We need to bear this responsibility in mind when we set budgets in the future.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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?

We need to create pathways for community members and parents to earn degrees to support bilingual education and increase opportunities for CPS graduates to come back to teach in CPS especially in Bilingual programs.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

Section 5 - School Culture

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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?

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.

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

Candidate declined to answer.