Equity, special education and representation are on the minds of Ebony DeBerry, Kate Doyle, Maggie Cullerton Hooper and Bruce Leon, all candidates running for the District 2 seat on the Chicago Public Schools school board on Nov. 5.

This is the first time the public will be able to vote for representatives on the CPS school board, according to a city of Chicago. press release. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed lEGISLATION directing the implementation of an elected school board for CPS in 2021.

Candidates will appear on the ballot for Illinois residence voters. The deadline for returning your ballot in person is 7:00 p.m., November 5, and the winner will be selected once all votes have been counted.

The Lake Shore campus falls within District 2, which includes Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Peterson Park, Andersonville, Edgewater, West Ridge and Rogers Park.

Ebony DeBerry

A former CPS student, DeBerry attended Gale Elementary and Sullivan High, later becoming a teacher in the district. She is a board member and recruiter for Grow Your Own Teachers, an organization that supports racially diverse individuals who want to become teachers in their own communities.

In an interview with The Phoenix, DeBerry said one goal included in her platform focuses on increasing the number of minorities and faculty in CPS schools.

The student population is 47.3% Latinx and 34.2% Black, according to CPS demographer for the 2024-2025 school year. DeBerry’s “Problems.” web page includes the goal of increasing the number of Black and Latino teachers.

“This district is overwhelmingly black and brown,” DeBerry said. “Children cannot become what they do not see in front of them.”

DeBerry said he supports equity and increased funding in schools. CPS budget for fiscal year 2025 proposal to the Board of Education called for moving the district away from a student-based funding model and toward a need-based one. However, CPS is running shortfalls and must repay the city, according to page 12 of City 2025 Budget forecast.

“Some amazing schools in the city have thrived for decades, others have been under-resourced for just as long,” DeBerry said. “We want to make sure every school can prepare a child for their future.”

DeBerry’s endorsements include several Chicago aldermen and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez.

Any questions can be directed to DeBerry’s campaign SITE.

A former special education teacher and CEO of KindWork, a nonprofit that provides technology education to low-income youth, Doyle said her policy proposals include raising student achievement in technical education. Doyle is the mother of a young son entering early learning in CPS.

Career and technical education programs provide students with the resources to learn skills specific to a career they would like to pursue after high school or post-secondary education, according to CPS.

No schools are listed on 2024-2025 CTE matrix offers each named course to its learners. The matrix is ​​a data sheet of all CTE courses offered at CPS high schools. Between two District 2 schools, Sullivan and Senn High Schools, only three CTE classes are available to students.

Of the 33 courses included in the CTE list, Sullivan offers only two, the Entrepreneurship track under the Business endorsement and the Health Sciences track under the Health Sciences endorsement. Senn only offers medical sciences.

“We should start by having strong CTE courses available in the early grades,” Doyle said. “I want to make sure that access to any technical education is equitably distributed.”

Any questions can be directed to Doyle’s campaign SITE.

Among other areas of interest, Cullerton Hooper is an activist for people with disabilities and victims of gender-based violence. She currently serves as a senior consultant for the Alliance for Black Equality PAC and has two children enrolled in a neighborhood school in Albany Park, where she served on the local school board for eight years.

Cullerton Hooper said her priorities include recognizing the complexities of educating students with disabilities and community involvement.

In 2018, CPS turned over control of special education to an independent monitor after the district was found to have violated federal law, The Associated Press reported.

“A system that works the way it does, regardless of the people inside it, is about avoiding litigation,” said Cullerton Hooper. “People with disabilities don’t have deficits, the world does. It’s CPS’s responsibility to compensate kids so they can learn.”

Any questions can be directed to Cullerton Hooper’s campaign SITE.

Leon is a small business owner and philanthropist who believes in the power of local government independent of city hall. According to him, Leon’s family has lived in Chicago for five generations campaign website.

His endorsements include local government officials such as Comptroller Susanna Mendoza and several aldermen, according to his endorsements. web page. He was also supported by Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Republican Party.

Leon did not respond to interview requests.