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Name:
Gregory Harris
What office are you seeking?
Board Member, Community High School District 99
What is your political party?
None
What is your current age?
43
Occupation and employer:
Education - Roselle School District 12
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Board Member, Downers Grove Grade School District 58 (2017-2025)
City:
Downers Grove
Campaign Website:
Education:
Bachelor of Arts (History and Secondary Education), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master of Arts (School Administration), Concordia University Chicago
Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Roosevelt University
Certified Chief School Business Official, Northern Illinois University
Community Involvement:
My volunteer work in the community has been centered around education and educational leadership. In conjunction with my two terms as a board member in Downers Grove Grade School District 58, I’ve also volunteered to provide leadership for the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County (SASED) and the Legislative Education Network of DuPage County (LEND). I’ve also spent countless hours planning fundraising events through the PTA at my children’s school.
Marital status/Immediate family:
Married to Belinda since 2009. Father of Isabel (DGN Class of 2029), Violet (DGN Class of 2031), and Finian (DGN Class of 2035).
Questions:
How can the district improve reading and English proficiency and state test scores?
The percentage of D99 students who have met and exceeded standards as measured by the SAT has dropped 11.1 points since 2017 (and one cannot blame COVID alone because there were big dips in data in both 2018 and 2019, prior to the pandemic). The Board needs to start paying much more attention to student performance data and asking tough questions of the administration about the quality of our curriculum and instructional practices. The Board needs to place a greater emphasis on accountability at all levels of the organization--from the boardroom down to the classroom--in order to improve outcomes for our students.The Board I served on in Downers Grove District 58 accomplished this. District 58 is on the opposite trajectory as District 99, with the percentages of students meeting and exceeding standards increasing significantly since 2019 (11.8 points). I have the knowledge and the leadership experience to replicate this success for District 99.
What is your stance on ICE agents accessing school grounds, and what policies would you advocate for regarding their presence on school property?
The Board of Education already has a policy (7.150) that focuses on protecting the rights and privacy of students when dealing with agency officials and police officers. The Board of Education must see that this policy is enforced with integrity across the district.
What are the top three issues that the school district is facing right now?
1. Creating a system of accountability that addresses the dwindling academic performance of District 99 students
2. Building a culture and climate in the schools that leads to improved instructional practices and increased supports for teachers and students
3. Increasing transparency and communication with all stakeholders (students, staff, parents, and community members)
What is your position on allowing students to use cell phones during school hours?
Cell phones have a time and a place, and they cannot be eliminated from the educational environment because parents rightfully demand that their children be reachable in the event of an emergency. But there should be clear and reasonable restrictions to their use during school hours that teachers should enforce and students should follow. As the chair of the policy committee in Downers Grove District 58, I helped usher in a new policy that restricted the use of cell phones in the middle schools. After making this change, the feedback from the teachers was excellent. It made a tangible difference in their ability to engage students and manage certain behaviors.
Do you think cell phone policies should allow exceptions for emergencies or specific educational purposes? If so, how would these exceptions be defined?
Yes, a student should be allowed to carry a cell phone in his/her backpack in case of an emergency. I am not aware of any specific educational purpose that would require a cell phone as every student has a district-issued chromebook, but of course I would consider the possibility if it was in the students’ best academic interests. Exceptions like these would have to be considered by the Board of Education with feedback from the community (students, teachers, parents, etc.) before being codified in the board policy manual.
What steps would you take to address concerns about cyberbullying and inappropriate content access through student cell phones?
The Board of Education needs to make sure the resources are available in the high schools to enable teachers and administrators to address negative behaviors that harm children, such as cyberbullying. The Board should also adopt and enforce policies that communicate to all stakeholders that these kinds of behaviors will not be tolerated.
What is your plan for making district financial reports, including budgets and expenditures, publicly available and easy to understand?
A monthly report should be made to the community at a board meeting that highlights revenues, expenditures, fund balances, and other key financial data points. All seven board members need to carefully read all the documents prior to the meeting and come prepared with probing questions about the current state of the district’s finances. The community invests an enormous amount of tax dollars in the schools and they have a right to demand that their elected board members are being good stewards of their investment.
How would you involve parents and community members in the decision-making process for curriculum or policy changes?
Teachers, parents and even students should be welcomed to participate in committees that make recommendations to the Board of Education for curriculum adoptions and new or revised district policies. Communicating honestly and openly with stakeholders on these issues and being receptive to their feedback is a crucial element of quality school district leadership.
What is your position on banning books in school libraries or classrooms, and how do you define the criteria for such decisions?
I am not in favor of banning books. This issue has largely been taken out of the hands of local school boards through recent state law.
How would you balance maintaining appropriate class sizes with the current teacher staffing levels?
The Board of Education should monitor class sizes to make sure that the number of students in each classroom does not exceed a limit where it becomes harder for the teacher to teach and for the students to learn. Additionally, the Board of Education should continue to manage resources in a way that makes it possible for the district to offer competitive salary and benefits packages so that District 99 is a destination for the best teachers in the state, thus making it easier for the district to manage teacher shortages that affect various content areas.
Do you believe the district is allocating enough resources toward hiring and supporting teachers, and if not, what changes would you make?
There is enough student performance data that is publicly available that suggests the district needs to provide better supports to teachers which will address the district’s dwindling test scores. These supports could possibly come in the form of hiring new staff, offering more professional development, or purchasing new classroom materials. The Board of Education needs to open their ears to the teachers in order to discover what they need at the classroom level in order to improve our students’ academic experiences. The Board of Education needs to make sure the resources are available to manage these changes and make the appropriate investments in our children’s futures.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I am aware of concerns from staff and from community members that the Board is not accessible to the constituents, i.e., due to internal protocols, that the superintendent responds to all emails to board members and that staff are discouraged from bringing concerns to board members. I would work to change that. As a board member in District 58, I felt it was my duty to be approachable and accessible to anyone who wants to discuss district business with his or her elected officials.