DAVID SCHAAFSMA

candidate for 2025 District 200 School Board

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What makes you qualified to serve? What sets you apart from other candidates? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to?

I and my family are 25 year residents of Oak Park, and passionately devoted to the community.. I have five children, three of whom will have graduated from the high school, and we (my wife Tara is an electrician in  Oak Park) have always been very involved in their education. What sets me apart as a candidate is that I am a life long English teacher, currently working as a Professor of English and Director of English Education at UIC. I have long worked with teachers at the school--several of which are my former and current students-- in my capacity as an English educator, and will continue to do that. I think having at least one board member with extensive experience in the field of Education. As to metrics of success, I think of the Freshman “detracking” initiative. I think we need to be patient in developing initiatives such as this, but ultimately, tracking data for steady improvement is key. That is just sound educational thinking, in my experience. 

2. What do you see as the three biggest challenges or opportunities facing District 200 in and what role do you see the Board playing to address them over the next four years? 

Let me address something that Oak Park has been earnestly trying to figure out for many decades, the issue of educational equity, a term everybody votes for but few know exactly how to enact. But I’m not a fatalist, nor one that gives up easily. We have to lean in the direction of hope in everything we do. But this hope isn't an empty phrase for Oak Park and River Forest. I do not know the percentage of River Foresters who voted for Harris, but I do know more than 90% of Oak Parkers voted for her, pointing to a long-standing commitment to progressive principles. So in other words, DEI is not a dirty acronym in our district. True, we have not always served the principle of equity as well as we could have or as well as we still might do. But I like bold initiatives such as the Freshmen detracking curriculum that move us in the direction of greater equity for all of our students. Because the way it had been done was not getting that done as well as it might have. 

Financial viability is obviously crucial to our future. We need to make prudent decisions about what we can and can’t afford, even in what has historically been an incredibly supportive school district. Surely one priority we have recognized and are addressing is the need to replace an aging infrastructure--buildings, fields--balancing that as much as we can with fiscal responsibility. I know this is a vexed and controversial issue, not easy to navigate. I’m not an economist, but fellow board candidate Kathleen Odell actually is, and so I hope to follow her lead on how we can move forward responsibly and with greater transparency. I think the fundamental consideration in all the building issues is sustainability, which I can see has been part of the decision-making so far, which I applaud and will continue to champion.

3. What is your decision making process? What steps can the Board take to ensure transparency, clear communication, and community engagement – hearing from the broad spectrum of families about their experiences of the Oak Park River Forest High School, and the full range of District 200’s constituents? 

In Oak Park all the global issues come to us, but the principles of deliberative democracy must be applied in our conversations on each difficult topic we face. Classroom conversations are the foundation of active citizenship. Do people get angry about what they passionately believe? Of course. But schools and school boards are the place where we have to begin to have these difficult conversations together, to learn to talk together so we can live together in spite of our differences. That’s the heart of education for me, the preparation of citizenship for active participation in democracy. That’s the historical approach of Oak Park as a village, too, I believe, and the high school as I have largely experienced it, so that’s why I want to be part of the conversation.

My personal commitment is to listen to all sides on an issue and work constructively with others on the board to come to an equitable decision, then communicate that to all constituencies. We are in a political moment nationally that is the opposite of transparency, so I am especially committed to this important principle now.

4. Please share your thoughts about District 200’s current financial picture. What’s your understanding of the Board’s role in the budgeting process and the allocation of resources? Do you have organizational finance experience?

I am the new kid on the block, and I am an English teacher with no organizational financial experience beyond the administrative oversight for research grants in which I have been involved, but I just got information from Superintendent Greg Johnson to the effect that the district is in good shape. I am certain that not everyone agrees with this assessment, and I am sure that funding for public education is a source for anxiety this year, but as I said above, I think fiscal responsibility has to be the cornerstone of any board decision, and I will do all I can to make responsible decisions based on evidence.

5. What would you say to voters who are worried about the tax burden? What are your thoughts about the Imagine Project, ongoing facility maintenance projects and how capital costs should be approached and balanced with the educational program offered to students?

I am worried about the tax burden, too. Taxes are and should be a concern for all of us. But I have talked with Superintendent Johnson, and current board members Fred Arkin and Jonathan Livingston and I like what I see about the balance between fiscal responsibility and the great need the district has to upgrade the facility and make it more accessible and up-to-date. These structures are more than 100 years old. But the upgrade of facilities shouldn’t come--and in my estimation isn’t coming-- at the expense of educational commitments. 

6. How will you work to ensure that District 200 provides an excellent educational experience for each student? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to? 

I want to be part of initiatives that put the needs of students toward  equity and excellence first, such as the Freshman Honors Curriculum. I look forward to meeting with any interested groups within the school and within the community who want to propose similar initiatives. Again, data to track improvements always has to be at the heart of educational decisions. Students first. No excellence without equity. They go hand in hand.

7. Special education is required by federal law. Please share your understanding of the special education programs at District 200 and how you will work to ensure that District 200 provides an excellent education for students in need of special education?

This is a question that is personally important to me. I have had three of my children have been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum, and I have another with an active 504 plan, so I am intimately and passionately connected to the Special Education program in the district and have had great experiences with them. I am committed to making sure ALL students get the resources they need to be successful. As a University teacher I am a huge advocate for the Disability Resource Center and each semester we have more and more students who require accommodations. I am gad to advocate for these students in my classes so they can get the help they need. To treat all students as if they are alike is the opposite of good teaching. Each student has special needs and characteristics teachers and parents need to attend to.

8. What is your impression of the implementation of District 200’s Access for All detracking curriculum redesign program and of detracking efforts generally? 

See above, but I am looking forward to helping develop and refine and support this project as much as possible. To go back to the way things were is to not to serve equity, in my estimation, but having said that, I know that the district needs time to work out how best to implement this program. I am a long time advocate of detracking in the service of racial equity and am teaching a graduate class this semester on this very topic.

9. District 200 has taken some steps to move away from policing and surveillance in schools toward restorative justice, mental health supports, and other services in schools. Do you think these moves have been successful? Please explain. What work do you believe remains to be done in this area? 

I was supportive of the move to move away from excessive policing in the schools. I don’t think we are in a crisis moment with respect to fighting or weapons in the school at the moment, but were we to suddenly need greater help I am not afraid to act with the school to ensure out students are safe.The school and the Oak Park Police force have a great relationship. As to mental health support,I have always been impressed, as a parent, that this is a priority for the school even as issues with depression and anxiety increase. At UIC, too, where I workd, there is greater attention to the psychological needs of students than ever before. This really began at UIC during the pandemic, but all supports continue to be in place there, as they should be.

10. Do you see a role for the District 200 Board in ensuring that OPRFHS is welcoming and safe for students in minority populations, whether immigrant, racial, religious identity, LGBTQ+, etc.? What specific actions or policies would you support? Please share your thoughts about District 200’s role in responding to recent national executive orders.

ALL students must feel safe and welcomed and cared for in the district. Of course we all know there are despicable attacks now on the safety of minority, trans, undocumented and other students.This runs contrary to my understanding of what a school should be, and what democracy should be. I was proud to be present at Vicki Scaman’s address to the community to assert Oak Park’s long held commitments toward diversity and safety and advocacy. Necessary. 

11. Researchers continue to report that significant numbers of students experience poor mental health. Many students seriously consider attempting suicide and a subset of these students attempt suicide. What can District 200 do to address this trend? 

See above on ongoing efforts to help address these issues, but I am actually doing research on suicide prevention with the Department of Psychology at UIC. Mental health struggles are very much part of my own family, my friends, my teaching, and I am committed to increasing resources toward the needs of our students. These are troubling times and we all need support. But suicide prevention is one of the most difficult issues we as a society--inlcuding schools-face. It begins with emp[athy, caring, in classrooms, and requires access to counseling and access to mental health care as needed.

12. What approach should District 200 take towards intergovernmental cooperation initiatives such as the Collaboration for Early Childhood Development? Are there other specific initiatives that you would like to implement or expand upon with other local and or regional governing bodies and nonprofits?

The Collaboration for Early Childhood Development is an exciting initiative, and having worked closely with elementary and middle schools thanks to my children, I love the idea of more and more articulation of resources across grade levels and want to be part of any such projects.

13. Should District 200 handle the question around the removal of books from library and classroom shelves, curriculum and other instructional tools if community members deem the content to be inappropriate, too controversial or objectionable? 

Again, since I am an English teacher, and library consumer, I have long been actively involved in working against the censorship of reading materials. Access to information across a range of perspectives is key to a functioning democracy. I will be an active participant in any discussion about the censorship of books in the district, hoping to work with the Library and Library Board in tandem. That said, as I said above, I think it is important to listen to the concerns of all community members. Parents need a say in their childrens’ education and they mut be heard. But as a teacher I have several times been involved in censorship campaigns, and so I am glad to bring my experience to this topic. 


14. One of the District 200 Board’s primary responsibilities is oversight of the Superintendent. What criteria do you believe the Board should use to evaluate the performance of the Superintendent?

I think this is an important function of the board and I am sure Superintendent Johnson agrees. Accountability is crucial for students, teachers, board members and superintendents. Again, data analysis is key in this process. Assess based on results, improvement.

15. Last November, Oak Park voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that proposed that voters be able to approve ordinances and policies though a direct vote. At this point the vote on the ballot initiative was advisory or non-binding. The next step is for the Village or any other taxing body in Oak Park (as reported by the Wednesday Journal, November 7, 2024) to decide whether or not to place the issue on the ballot as a binding referendum. Please share your views on this initiative. 

I am not sure at this point how I will move forward on this initiative. As I said above, I think community members in the district should be heard. I am at this moment supportive of the initiative as advisory and non-binding. Why? I want the district to have the flexibility to make decisions as elected or hired representatives as needed. Often these decisions are vexed, complicated, and the source of passionate disagreement, but the job of elected officials and other leaders is to make tough decisions as they see fit. That’s part of leadership, and not everyone agrees, of course, but decisions need to be made and sometimes made quickly. For the district to vote on each and every decision to be made in the district works against efficiency. That said, if there is overwhelming support against an ordinance or policy, I think it is foolish for elected or hired representatives to run roughshod over public opinion. The principle of listening to all perspectives always has to apply.