Story posted Thursday, January 8, 2009
3 Dist. 214 Incumbents Running Together
Three Township High School Dist. 214 community leaders are pledging to continue the district's "tradition of educational excellence, keeping fiscal responsibility and student achievement" by seeking reelection to the board of education on Apr. 7.
"We are running together to support one another in a team effort to continue the long record of financial stability and student achievement at the district's six high schools and three alternative schools," said Miriam (Mimi Cooper) Spickard, James Perkins and Lenore Gonzales Bragaw in a statement announcing their joint candidacy.
Bragaw is the board's current president and Cooper is currently vice president. Perkins, who has two children currently attending John Hersey High School, was appointed to a board vacancy last year and is now running for a full term.
According to the three board members, under their leadership:
* The district has operated with a balanced budget for 16 consecutive years, and has requested no tax referendum in over 40 years
* Student performance on ACT (American College Testing) aptitude tests has grown steadily in all academic disciplines, reaching the highest levels in 20 years
* Student participation in advanced placement academic courses has increased 112% since 2001
* The achievement gap is shrinking. By the standards set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), performance in all 10 subgroups including minorities and students with special needs, have increased every year since 2002
* The district is preparing the technology work force for the next generation with Project Lead the Way, partnerships with area businesses and Harper College, and certificated programs for non-college bound children
* The district was recently honored with the Illinois Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Award for beating back a 2006 challenge by a group seeking to remove books from the schools
* All six high schools have received the U.S. Dept. of Education's Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence.
"We are running on a positive record of sound financial management, continuous improvement in student achievement, good working relationships with faculty and staff, and willingness to support innovations that have attracted national recognition," all three board members said.
Cooper, a practicing lawyer specializing in family and real estate law, was first elected to the board in 1989. Before becoming an attorney, she taught and worked as corporate business finance professional.
She is a past board president and current board representative to the Dist. 214 Community Education Foundation. The Illinois State Board of Education has recognized her for excellence as a school board member. She also serves on the board of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association and is a past board member of Omni Youth Services.
Perkins, a Certified Public Accountant, holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and economics from Augustana College in Rock Island.
He is a former member of the Prospect Heights School Dist. 23 Board of Education and the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO). He serves as a mentor for Omni Youth Services, high school football official, and youth sports coach. He also serves as a lector and is active in men's groups at St. Edna Catholic Church in Arlington Heights.
Bragaw, a board member since 2000, recently started a private practice with an emphasis in family law, after 15 years as a public interest and legal aid attorney.
Active in national education activities, she served four years as Central Region Director of the National School Board Association's Hispanic Caucus. She has served on the Olive-Mary Stitt elementary PTA Parent-Teacher Association) Board, the PADS Board, and Arlington Heights United Way Board and is currently Chairman of the Human Resource Committee of the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre Board.
Four seats will become open this April.
Dist. 214 serves a 68.3 sq. mile suburban area encompassing more than 250,000 residents in communities of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Mt. Prospect, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, and Wheeling.
The district enrolls 12,600 students and employs 1,700. In addition to its six high schools, Dist. 214 operates three alternative schools: Vanguard School, the Newcomer Center, and the Forest View Alternative School program, all located in the Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights with the district's administrative offices.