School board candidates talk about diverse learning and quantum careers at Southeast Side Forum

EAST SIDE — With just over a week until Election Day, Southeast Side residents met with candidates vying for a seat on their district’s elected school board to discuss students’ educational needs, curriculum ideas and ways to pursue a career in quantum computing.

Three candidates in the race for Chicago’s 10th District school board met with about 50 neighbors during a forum Friday morning at Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, 9805 S. Ewing Ave. on the East Side.

Education consultant Adam Parrott-Schaeffer, artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith and nonprofit CEO Karin Norington-Reeves were on hand for the panel. Pastor Robert Jones and write-in candidate Rosita Chatonda were not present.

District 10 extends along the waterfront from 31st Street south to the city limits and as far west as Parnell Avenue, including portions of the 4th, 10th, 17th, 20th and 21st wards.

Neighbors at Friday’s meeting focused on issues related to Southeast Side demographics and future development.

They asked candidates about their plans to prepare Chicago Public Schools students for careers in quantum development in south chicago and the board’s role in shaping curriculum for a diverse student body.

To view the entire forum, including the Spanish translation, Click here.

Quantum quarry conveyor

With a quantum computing campus planned on the site of the former South Works steel mill, founded by startup PsiQuantum, and with strong political and financial support from the state and city — candidates were asked how they would ensure local students have access to on-campus careers.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials have vowed to work with CPS and higher education institutions to create more pathways for Southern residents to enter the quantum computing industry.

Parrott-Schaeffer said the community needs “tighter contracts and more active negotiations” with campus project proponents, which would encourage developers and tenants to play a major role in building quantum careers.

“We need to make sure that our partnerships with the businesses that are implementing this (project) view our students as their first employees and future leaders of these organizations and institutions,” he said.

Smith said the district should use children’s existing interests in video games, music and other subjects as a way to introduce them to engineering, coding and other scientific fields.

“Society needs to know how to translate this into education,” he said. “We have to know what to ask for. There are people in the city who work with quantum computers and never help organize any of the actual training that we see now.”

Norington-Reeves called for curricula to better prepare students for computing careers, and for quantum campus sponsors to sign a public benefits agreement to ensure local talent is hired, investments in local economic development, skills training and other benefits related to the project.

“We want our parents and our youth to have access to these jobs,” she said. “Those people who are going to work for this company should be volunteering in our schools to help educate our children.”

Culturally Relevant Curricula

Candidates were asked how they would shape school curricula to reflect the history and diversity of Chicago and its cultures.

Parrott-Schaeffer said the school board should seek input from Chicago education leaders and local officials to help develop curriculum programs that “connect back to local communities.”

“What the council can do is help make sure we’re doing strong, local programs, but we can also partner with local experts,” he said.

Smith also called on community members to lead the training programs, citing the accomplishments of former Mayor Harold Washington and Ald. The story of Peter Chico’s (10th) family in the South Side steel mills as an example of educational topics that may interest local residents.

“We are surrounded by great giants everywhere,” he said. “All we have to do is bring the community into the school.”

Norington-Reeves noted that cultural representation is important in the curriculum because students need to see themselves reflected in the novels they read and the math problems they answer.

“We need diverse reading, we need diverse writing, we need opportunities to spread awareness, and we don’t have that,” she said. “Part of the problem is that curriculum decisions are made by principals.”

Needs of Neurodiverse Students

One participant asked candidates how the board should address the needs of neurodiverse students, meaning children with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning and thinking differences.

Parrott-Schaeffer, who said he is the parent of a child with disabilities and a guardian of an adult with disabilities, said the district must gather first-hand information from neurodiverse students to ensure an equitable education.

Parrott-Schaeffer also criticized the speed at which teachers must learn their yearly curriculum, saying two weeks is “not enough time to plan” how they will respond to the unique needs of their students.

“We have 330,000 students in our district who need a variety of things, which means we need a flexible curriculum,” he said.

Smith, who said his son had an individualized education program at school, said athletics, art and other extracurricular activities are necessary resources for neurodivergent students.

Smith also called for increased funding for aides and counselors in special education classrooms, providing “a nurse in every school” and providing “quality and safe transportation” to and from school.

“As a school board member, I want to make sure that all of our comprehensive services—extracurricular programs, sports, the arts—are helping young people with neurological disabilities,” he said. “When they start making art, you start to see them create their own stories and heal themselves through art.”

Norington-Reeves, who said her daughter is blind, said she previously had to fight the district’s plans to educate her daughter in a “renovated closet with a teacher and two kids.”

Norington-Reeves said every student should receive an education tailored to their abilities, which requires flexible curricula, better training for teachers and support staff, “inclusive classrooms” and more accessible extra-curricular activities.

“My daughter can’t go to extracurricular activities because there’s no one to stay with her. There is no help after school,” she said.

Multilingual education

Another participant asked how candidates would support multilingual education in District 10, which includes communities with large Hispanic populations.

Parrott-Schaeffer called for more bilingual schools, where “all classes are taught in English and Spanish,” he said. Every teacher in the city must also be certified in English as a second language or bilingual education, he said.

Smith said professional development for teachers should go beyond English and Spanish to include other languages ​​common in Chicago, such as Arabic and Polish. He also introduced immersion programs in which schools can encourage community members to share music, food and other cultural assets with each other.

Norington-Reeves proposed “bilingual programming” in schools. For example, instruction in kindergarten through third grade could be in students’ primary languages, fourth grade would be taught in a mixture of the primary language and English, and the rest of instruction would be in English, she said.

Will they meet the southeasterners?

Parrott-Schaeffer, Smith and Norington-Reeves promised to meet with Southeast Side groups such as Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Alliance of the Southeast, Claretian Associates and others to respond to community concerns within their first 100 days in office. if they are elected.

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