Naperville D203 school board candidates agree district moving too fast on proposed changes

Chicago Tribune

05-03-2025

The five candidates running for Naperville District 203 School Board say they do not support changes to the district's start and end times and implementation of middle and high school block scheduling as they are currently being proposed.
The candidates addressed the Innovative School Experience, the formal name for the plan currently under discussion at the board level, as part of a candidates' forum this week sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Naperville and the district's General Home and School Association.
Five people are seeking to fill four, four-year seats on the board, including incumbents Charles Cush and Amanda McMillen and newcomers Holly Joy Blastic, Jillian Langer and Marc Willensky. The election is April 1, which coincides with the district's spring break.
The Innovative School Experience is an administration-recommended plan to alter the start and end time of the elementary, middle and high school day, add 15 minutes to elementary school, add more time for math instruction for middle school students, decrease the time high school students are in school and switch to a block format with longer class periods for middle and high school students.
The proposal has not yet been voted on, but the administration has recommended that it take effect in the 2025-26 school year. The district has faced some pushback in the last two months from parents, teachers and students.
Candidates for school board said while they appreciate innovation, they aren't sold on the plan as it currently stands.
Cush, an incumbent who may be voting on the proposal, said that while he believes the reasons behind the Innovative School Experience proposal are the right ones, he doesn't support the plan right now.
'We have two major constituents, both the parents as well as the teachers who don't believe we are ready as the plan is currently constituted,' Cush said. 'I have concerns with the implementation side of it.'
McMillen, the other incumbent in the race, said that while she applauds the district for trying to close the achievement gap, especially in math, the district needs to take more time to determine how to implement the plan and perhaps look to pilot certain pieces, such as changes to the early childhood education, before moving forward.
Langer said the district is on the forefront of developing new curriculum and policies to push the students forward. However, she said, she is concerned for the teachers who will need to prepare new curriculum and concerned about students sitting through an 85-minute class as part of the block schedule. She said more engagement with the community is necessary to take their feedback into account.
'Trying to roll this plan out in August is going to be a big challenge and might put our students back,' Langer said.
Willensky said the district needs to separate the components that will benefit students versus those that improve the district's operations.
'August 2025 is just too soon to do this,' Willensky said. 'There's been a lot of pushback from the community about the timeline to get this all implemented in six months. We have to give teachers time to work on their lesson plans. Families need to plan their schedules. Students need to be prepared for the changes that they will be going through. Right now we have a great school district, and I'm concerned that if we don't do the implementation right, our children in the next year will suffer because of that.'
Blastic said families need more time. She noted parents like herself want to sign up for after-school care for the next school year, but they don't know what the school day will look like.
Parents also need to be given the data that shows the administration proposal meets the district's goals, she said.
In addition to the changes in the school day, candidates also addressed the importance of digital literacy, possible elimination of the federal Department of Education, mental health and how the board can be more accessible to the community.
On the topic of digital learning, Willensky said careers in artificial intelligence did not exist a few years ago, and it is important to embrace changes while teaching students how to use the tools in a responsible way.
Cush said digital learning tools are here to stay, but the district cannot lose focus of teaching critical thinking, communication and adaptability skills.
'These (digital) tools can enhance these skills but they are not going to be a replacement for them,' Cush said. '…Tools will come and go, and there will be new tools we don't know about right now, but it's the skill sets that are critically important.'
Candidates noted that the federal government funds about $10 million, or about 3% of the district's budget and would have to carefully prepare for any impacts that eliminating the Department of Education would bring.
Blastic noted that the federal dollars go towards low-income students, school lunch programs, special education, teacher training and English language learners, which are critical components of education. She said that education is mostly a state prerogative, and the state offers laws and protections for its students.
'We follow Illinois law. We follow Illinois curriculum,' she said. 'We would lose resources. We would lose funds, and I would hope we would be able to keep as many as possible. But we are Illinois. We are Naperville, so we will have state protections for … our students with disabilities to protect all of our students and protect our curriculum.'
McMillen said the district has always prioritized inclusion and equity, which would not go away if the federal government eliminates the education department. The district would have to adapt if necessary to covering the 3% of the district's budget that is federally funded.
'I think we are very fortunate not to rely too much on the federal government, so we will be able to easily adapt,' McMillen said.
On the topic of mental and physical health, Langer said she would advocate for teacher trainings to recognize some of the early warning signs for mental health issues.
'We did not get out of the pandemic for free,' she said.
Blastic said one of parents' concerns is the sense that they have to fight to get services for students with disabilities or special needs. She said it needs to be more of a collaborative rather than combative experience for families.
Willensky said the district should always do more and ensure mental health is as much of a priority as physical health. The district should strengthen existing and create new partnerships with community organizations.
'Early screening to identify issues and problems is very important,' he said. 'I also want to make sure we are bringing the community together to talk about what it is that we can do.'
Candidates agreed the school board can work on different ways they can be accessible to the community.
Cush said each board member has adopted various schools and the board utilizes emails and forums to talk with its stakeholders. He said he believed more outreach can be done on a one-on-one level.
Langer said parents have had enough of surveys and feel their feedback isn't taken into consideration so they don't bother to respond.
'I would like to improve the ways in which we engage with the community … in order to make it more meaningful for them,' she said.
McMillen and Willensky said it would be nice to have listening sessions to hear from the community in a way that doesn't violate the Open Meetings Act.
Blastic said the board needs to be more transparent in its communication. She cited the Innovative School Experience as an example in which high school students were coming home mentioning a block schedule. But block schedules or school start times weren't mentioned to parents during listening sessions before winter break, she said.
'We aren't using the plain clear language and being transparent with parents and the community about what we are really doing,' Blastic said.
Each of the candidates said they have a vested interest in the district and they have a passion for service.
Blastic, an attorney for crime victims rights, has four children in the district. She is co-founder of Naperville Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense.
Cush, a father of three who has served on the board since 2016, is the owner of a consulting business and an adjunct professor at College of DuPage and St. Catherine University in Minneapolis.
Langer, mother of two district students, has a master's degree in public health and is the current home and school president at Maplebrook Elementary School. She is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
McMillen, a licensed clinical social worker, has worked for 20 years in nonprofit organizations that focus on children and families. She has four children in district schools and is running for her second term.
Willensky has more than 30 years' experience in finance and is a former certified public accountant. He said the district's teachers inspired his daughter to study education at Illinois State University.
A video of forum is available on the league's YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/channel/UCYE64ojtgWXSvYyXdBtOkqQ.