Laurie Donahue: 2025 candidate for Indian Prairie Unit District 204 board

Bio

Office sought: Indian Prairie Unit District 204 board (Vote for 4)

City: Naperville

Age: 67

Occupation: Retired telecom management

Previous offices held: Elected in 2017 and 2021 to Indian Prairie board; current board president

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

Naperville has been my home for over 40 years. I am grateful my children had the opportunity to attend Indian Prairie schools from kindergarten through their high school graduations. I want to ensure our district remains strong and each student is challenged academically, supported emotionally, and is given the opportunity to achieve their greatest potential.

We need to create an environment where students want to learn and attend school. I want to give them the joy of learning, nurture curiosity and inspire them to pursue their interests.

Additionally, with fewer people going into the teaching profession, we need to focus on ways to retain and hire excellent staff. Finally, financial governance will be critical to managing the new capital referendum and the district operational budget constraints.

What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring the curriculum?

The superintendent is responsible for the day-to-day running of the district and hiring experts into district leadership positions, including curriculum. Setting policy, ensuring processes are in place to evaluate/introduce resources, and checking performance are roles the board carries related to curriculum. Within 204, we have a schedule for evaluating all curriculum and a robust process for assessment, trialing, community input, and rolling out changes.

Academic performance is presented to the board on a yearly basis. For example, English for middle school students was recently approved by the board for use throughout the district. Approval came after extensive analysis, trials for almost a year, and opportunity for public comment.

Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

Recently we implemented a rotating schedule of evaluating curriculum. This was a positive change and put in place because we wanted to ensure that resources are regularly reviewed. The timing can vary greatly.

In some cases, for example in calculus, the materials change infrequently, while others, like elementary reading, may have a higher rate of introducing new resources. We want to make sure that we are evaluating fresh materials and innovative approaches to help our students succeed across the breath of our academic subjects.

How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents — even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

I was elected to represent the community. I consider addressing tough issues and getting stakeholder input prior to board decision making on key issues essential to my role.

While on the board, I have been involved in significant, challenging initiatives, including, hiring a new superintendent, defining a district-wide facility plan, changing the boundaries throughout the district, creation of the first five-year strategic plan, and passage of a major ($420 million) referendum.

In each case, stakeholder input was gathered prior to decision making. Techniques included creating stakeholder teams, community forums, surveys, targeted stakeholder interviews, websites for people to submit input, and even activities like “Coffee and Conversation” sessions. My role is to listen, understand, evaluate and ultimately make a decision.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions for your school board.

Beyond the school board, I have extensive professional and volunteer experience in leadership positions driving policy and strategic decision making. With seven people on the school board, it is guaranteed that we will have different opinions. To work effectively you need to:

• Respect opinions, even when they don’t match your own

• Demonstrate listening skills to understand viewpoints

• Use negotiation skills to arrive at a consensus

• Hold each person accountable for supporting decisions made by the board

Decisions made by school boards have significant impact. It is essential that board members are able to solve problems, define goals, and make decisions as a team. Diversity of views is beneficial. Each person should be heard and valued.

What is your assessment of the school district's diversity and equity efforts? Do you support the continuation or enhancement of such programs, or would you rather see them diminished. Please explain your reasoning.

We are a diverse district with the majority of our students identifying as a minority. Additionally, 21% of our students are low income, 12% have special needs, and 21% are English Language Learners. One hundred and twenty-six different languages are spoken in our family homes.

To celebrate and support this diverse profile the district has been proactive in building an inclusive and accommodating environment. In recent years, we amended our strategic plan with an equity plan.

This document provides guidance on removing barriers and identifying ways to help our students flourish. I believe we need to continue our efforts to have our schools be an inclusive, supportive environment for every one of our students. We are a richer district because of the exposure to different cultures and life experiences present in our community.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

School districts are complex. Board members carry tremendous responsibility in forming future generations and managing significant community tax dollars. Teamwork is essential.

Since being elected in 2017 and 2021, I’ve spent my time listening, learning, and tackling tough issues. I’ve been the board president for the last 3.5 years. My professional background includes leading large business and technical telecom teams, including a $1B procurement program and a $250M investment portfolio. I have a BS in computer engineering and an MBA.

To be successful, I built skills in negotiation, team building, leadership and communications. Several years ago, I retired to devote more time to volunteering and to 204 activities, including as a substitute teacher. I bring knowledge, skills and passion to addressing the myriad of issues within 204.

What’s one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

There is a constant stream of ideas being explored within the district. One that I find interesting is related to a no-zero grading policy. I believe the focus on academic performance should be on whether a student has learned the assignment. A student who receives a zero has no incentive to complete the work and the grade does not reflect how well a student knows the subject. A zero grade can have a heavy, negative impact on the student’s class grade. We need to encourage students to complete the assignment and, most importantly, demonstrate mastery of the subject.

A few years ago, the board worked at the state level to get the majority of school boards to support a no-zero belief statement. The belief statement was accepted. Within our district, we have a team studying this subject.