Glenview and Northbrook voters have chosen John “Jack” Downing, Peter Glowacki, Beth Hope, and Matthew O’Hara to serve as members of the District 225 (D225) school board. These four members will make up four of the seven board seats, with Downing and Hope as incumbents and Glowacki and O’Hara as returning members.
The members ran together after receiving an endorsement from the D225 Board of Education Caucus, later receiving an endorsement from the Glenbrook Education Association, the union representing D225 staff, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Dan Rhoades, Glenbrook Education Association Co-President and Social Studies Teacher, explained that in order to be endorsed by the Glenbrook Education Association, candidates are interviewed by a committee of union members and then voted on. They then provide yard signs with names of the endorsed candidates, Rhoades said.
Candidates Julian Cheng, Lowell Paul Eisenstadt, and Lisa Kane lost to the caucus members, The Chicago Tribune reported. Overall, Rhoades is very optimistic about the future of the school board.
“We are always, always really glad to have a school board that is engaged and thoughtfully so with the school, with the students, and also with the faculty,” Rhoades said. “I think the candidates as they ran their campaigns made it very clear that they all cared and was deeply in invested in the schools.”
DISTRICT 34 ELECTION
Glenview voters selected Biology Teacher Jessica Pritzker to be a member of the District 34 school board.
After years of being involved in District 34 through her work as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President and PTA Council President, as well as growing up, teaching, and raising kids in Glenview, Pritzker considers herself very well involved in the community.
Pritzker’s first and foremost priority is to pass a referendum for teachers that will increase staff pay, she added. She feels that this minor increase in funding from households will make a great difference in the paychecks of District 34 teachers. Without happy teachers, it is impossible to have amazing school districts, Pritzker said.
Her years of experience as a teacher and administrator has also allowed Pritzker to bring a unique voice to the table. While the majority of school board members are generally lawyers or businessmen, Pritzker is the first teacher to ever serve on the District 34 school board, she explained. She believes this allows her to see more than simply the number next to a certain goal, but the best path to help students.
“I bring the perspective [of someone who’s been] a teacher for 22 years, an admin for six years, a parent, [and] a GBS [alumni],” Pritzker said. “I grew up here, so there’s a lot I bring to the table that I don’t think a lot of other people know.”
Due to a majority of her course load being freshman biology, Pritzker has seen what strategies work best for students. While her main goal is to make sure that all students in District 34 are prepared to enter South freshmen year, Pritzker will not rattle the norm that District 34 has grown accustomed to, she said.
“I don’t see myself as this shiny star that’s going to come in and change everything, I’m just trying to do the best I can and make sure that District 34 is a good place to go to school,” Pritzker said.
By keeping an open mind, Pritzker believes the connections she has made within the community has made her qualified to serve the school board.
“I see people everywhere, [because] I’m really involved,” Pritzker said. “I drive carpool [and] I’m at the park center. I keep my ears open, listen to people’s opinions, and do what’s best [for the] kids.”
