We asked each candidate to answer questions on topics important to the Senn High School community. Below are their answers.
Carol Friedman
(pronouns: she / her)
Running for: Community Representative
About the Candidate
In just a few sentences, please tell us about yourself.
I am a retired CPS principal, special education teacher, union delegate and mentor. Edgewater resident for 13 years. Active in the community. Participates in Senn Neighborhood Watch. Member of Indivisible Edgewater. Parent of a CPS graduate.
What is your relationship to Senn?
Current LSC community member. Tutor of Bilingual students. Have attended cultural events.
Why do you want to be on the Senn LSC?
I love education. Senn HS is unique, and a wonderful example of a diverse population and curriculum. I enjoy and admire the students. Senn has the potential to be the shining example of a neighborhood school, but still falls short. I hope we can work together to help it meet that potential.
Do you have any previous experience on a Local School Council? If so, tell us about it.
Yes. I have been on the Senn LSC for 4 years. I was principal of Franklin Fine Arts Center for 7 years and sat on the LSC. As AP of Hawthorne Scholastic Academy, i attended all LSC meetings.
Where Your Candidate Stands
We asked each candidate a series of questions that important to the Senn High School community. Their answers are below.
Q1. What do you believe are the responsibilities of a Local School Council?
Candidate Answer:
Approve the CIWP; annual evaluation of current principal; approve budget in relation to CIWP goals; review budget monthly; renew principal contract or don't renew and select a new principal. An unstated responsibility of the LSC is to represent and be in conversation with their constituency and bring issues to the LSC when called for.
Q2. What core values do you hope to uphold as a member of the LSC?
Candidate Answer:
Respect other members of LSC and the democratic process. Ensure honesty and communication between the principal and LSC members and school community. Be a good listener. Hold high standards for all students. Make fair decisions with the goal of benefitting student education, safety and emotional well-being.
Q3. All Parent and Community LSC members are required to complete 9 mandatory training sessions within six months of taking office.
- If you are a current or former LSC member, have you completed all your training sessions?
- If you have not served on an LSC before, do you commit to competing all 9 training sessions within six months of taking office?
(Candidates were given a matrix of preselected answers. Below are the answers they selected)
Candidate Answer:
- I am a current LSC member.
- I have completed all required trainings.
Q4. What does effective communication for a principal entail, in your eyes? In what moments does principal communication matter most?
Candidate Answer:
Effective communication entails active listening, sharing, being open to being wrong and/or changing one's mind. Sharing information in a clear and timely manner, in multiple languages. The principal must strive to understand issues from a variety of perspectives, show empathy and be sincerely open to all viewpoints Communication is critical during unplanned events. Stakeholders deserve to be aware of what is happening and must trust that the principal will share the information in real time.
Q5. What is your understanding of CPS's policies regarding ICE and federal agents in school buildings?
Candidate Answer:
CPS maintains a strict policy prohibiting ICE agents from entering school grounds without a criminal judicial warrant. School administrators should not cooperate with, or facilitate any immigration enforcement actions on school premises. Student records are not to be shared with ICE or other federal agents.
Q6. What kind of leadership would you expect to see from the principal when federal agents target our neighborhood and families?
Candidate Answer:
I expected and still expect the principal to work with the staff and the community to protect students and families from federal agents. Provide sanctuary. Communicate information to all parents in English and Spanish regarding the school's policies. Provide education. Hold Know Your Rights sessions for families in multiple languages. Support the staff and community members who are actively engaged. Use Sanctuary committee flow chart. Continue to assess the situation.
Q7. LSC members are responsible for developing and monitoring the school's improvement plan (CIWP), which includes goals around academic success. Describe your understanding of Senn's academic programs. What academic priorities will you emphasize in your role on the LSC?
Candidate Answer:
Academic Programs include wall to wall IB (Middle year, Career and Diploma), Major Studies (interdisciplinary, computer science, health science, digital imaging or journalism) and SennArts (magnet fine & performing arts).AP classes and Education to Careers programs available. Non-neighborhood students are accepted into the IB program. Bilingual programs must be supported. As I tried to do this past year, I would prioritize rebuilding SennArts. We cannot let it fail. High standards for all.
Q8. One of the key responsibilities of the LSC is aligning the school's budget to the CIWP.
- If you are or have been a Senn LSC representative, provide an example or two of what you have done to ensure both ongoing and annual budgetary transparency?
- For candidates who have not served on Senn's LSC: Describe your approach to budget accountability, transparency, and oversight.
Candidate Answer:
Copies of budgets and internal accounts are provided to the LSC before each monthly meeting. This had not been done systematically in the past. Lists of expenses for each month are provided. An LSC budget committee should meet with the principal before each meeting. The principal lays out priorities at the beginning of the budgetary process with costs, including staff for each department. Staff hires align with CIWP. Analysis and discussion follow. Changes are made.
Q9. What should the role of the LSC be if the principal attempts to quietly make changes without transparency or community input?
Candidate Answer:
Make those changes transparent and public. Halt the change if possible and necessary. Follow up closely. Keep the issue on the agenda. Create committees of stakeholders if needed for ongoing input. Bring the issue to the Network and beyond if necessary (if this would be useful).
Q10. When families consistently learn important information from outside sources rather than school leadership, what should the LSC do?
Candidate Answer:
Speak to individuals with outside knowledge. Speak to principal. Document. Others can speak at the LSC meeting. Put the information on the agenda. Include this deficiency in principal's yearly evaluation. Follow up to assure no punishment to outside sources. Report to Network/District leadership if needed.
Q11. The 5Essentials Survey (link), developed by the University of Chicago in collaboration with CPS, identifies strengths and weaknesses across five areas:
- Effective Leaders (Score: 28, Weak)
- Collaborative Teachers (Score: 47, Neutral)
- Involved Families (Score: 40, Neutral)
- Supportive Environment (Score: 50, Neutral)
- Ambitions Instruction (Not scored due to data error)
What stands out to you and what action steps would you take as an LSC representative to address the challenge areas?
Candidate Answer:
Effective leadership is the weakest area, appears each year. This has also been reflected in the principal's yearly evaluation. Based on feedback from surveys, discussion and common practice, specific sub-categories have been brought to the principal's attention. Discussion and steps for improvement have been laid out. Teachers will collaborate more and families might become involved when the culture in the school supports it .
Q12. Describe your approach to equity. How would you ensure that decisions made by the LSC support and do not proportionally harm Black, Latino, Indigenous, immigrant, or low-income students? What systems and practices would you support to make sure marginalized voices are not just heard, but actually shape outcomes?
Candidate Answer:
I have worked in schools with a mixed population as both a teacher and administrator. Respect for all students is key. Practices should include culturally relevant curriculum, equal opportunities and rewards given to all students and attention to unique needs. Provide necessary support. Use appropriate data to identify strengths and areas of need. Include equity in teacher observations. It's also important to include special education students. Provide accommodations.
Q13. One of the key responsibilities of LSC members is to evaluate the school's principal. This LSC term will coincide with the contract renewal timeframe for Senn's principal. Describe how you will approach this responsibility.
What key performance indicators should be the primary focus factors when deciding whether to renew a principal's contract.
Candidate Answer:
Ldrship: common mission, effective communication & teams, continuous improvement.
Instruction: high quality, culturally responsive, useful teacher feedback, positive assessment culture, relevant data.
Climate/Culture: 2-way communication with families, values other's perspectives, soc/emo skills, safety.
Talent: growth opportunities, collaborative prof.culture, shares leadership roles & resp.
Artifacts: include CIWP alignment, progress from previous evaluations, surveys, focus groups.
Additional Candidate Materials
Candidates were offered the opportunity to provide the public with additional materials to be displayed on their profile page. Those materials are provided here.