Athena Arvanitis, District 205 Board Candidate

ELMHURST, IL — Athena Arvanitis is one of six candidates for three seats on the Elmhurst School District 205 board. Here are her responses to the Patch questionnaire:

Athena Arvanitis

Age (as of election day)

41

Town/city of residence

Elmhurst

Family

Nektarios (Nick) Arvanitis- husband
Demi (9 years old)
Thalia (7 years old)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

B.S. Marketing - Northern Illinois University; M.A. Secondary Education - Roosevelt University

Occupation

School Administrator -12 years

Campaign website

www.AthenaforD205.com

Previous or current elected or appointed office

None

The single most pressing issue facing our district is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

If I had to pick the single most pressing issue our district is facing today, I would say it is the plan to reopen our schools. My goal is to work toward fully and safely reopening our schools, and the plan to get there depends on a variety of factors (Illinois State Board of Education recommendations, Illinois and DuPage County Departments of Public Health response to COVID-19 cases in schools and contact tracing, staffing challenges, facility challenges, and so much more). Understanding the complicated issues schools face today, I know that collaboration and communication are key to developing a plan for action. Even more important is the ability to ask the right questions to guide the Board and school administration in developing plans that meet student needs and community wants while balancing the needs of the District. If elected, I am committed to partnering with members of the Board of Education, District administration, community members and school staff to implement a plan focused on doing what is best for our children and reopening our schools to their fullest capacity while maintaining the safest possible environment for all.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I currently serve as Assistant Principal for Student Programs and Operations for New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. In that role, I oversee the district security team, district emergency response plans and systems, and student programs like career services, district financial assistance and angel fund programs, foreign exchange and international travel programs as well as scholarships for students. I also partner with teachers in their professional growth and development while participating on hiring committees to select highly qualified candidates for employment at all levels in our district.
As a mother of two elementary school students and a seasoned school administrator, I would bring valuable experience to the Board of Education for Elmhurst Community Unit District 205. I have a wide lens and ample understanding of how to implement effective change in schools to meet student needs while tackling the variety of challenges schools are facing today. My experience as both an educational leader and as a parent is more important now than ever as we face a continuing pandemic and the need to address its impact on student learning and well-being. In my tenure as an educator one essential principle has always remained at the core of my work: staying focused on what is best for students in all aspects of decision-making.
I am running for Board of Education because I believe my experience would be of great benefit to the school board, and I want to give back to a community that is so important to my family.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

I think everyone is doing the best they can under the current circumstances. Board members, administrators, teachers and staff, parents and students. Information is changing every day and guidance has been clear and unclear at times. I’d like to take the approach of looking forward to the opportunities that lie in front of us.
If elected, I promise to strengthen community relations by enhancing communication, collaboration, and transparency while listening to and acting on the needs of our students and the values of our community.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Community Engagement and Communication: Listen to and represent the interests of stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, and the District, and make decisions that are grounded in our community values and needs.
Finance and Facilities Projects: Maintain a positive student experience during construction and renovation and analyze timelines and budget allocation priorities across the District.
School safety: Assure that our district has the best plan to address safety in our schools, from physical safety to social and emotional safety, emergency and crisis response, preparedness and prevention.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My experience cites as evidence that I can handle, and more importantly, have an impact, if elected into this role. I’ve worked on teams to implement large scale facilities projects, enhance school safety and emergency planning, supported teaching and learning, and partnered with the community to enhance the student educational experience. I also have a thorough understanding of Board, Administration, and staff roles and how they partner and work together to move the community forward.

Why should voters trust you?

Honest and compassionate with the mindset for continuous improvement, it's not about what went wrong as much as it is about how we can make it better.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

Moving forward, together. If the school community mends relationships, enhances communication, provides a clear vision for the future, and continues to work towards creating the best learning environment and opportunities for our children, while listening to the community and making decisions that are ingrained in what is best for students, I will feel that my term in office was a success.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

As someone who has experience in the stewardship of taxpayer dollars, I take this duty very seriously. Identifying needs whether they are staffing, instructional supplies, technology, and so on, it is important to analyze and place our financial resources in the right areas to give the support needed for students to grow and be prepared for the future. At the same time it is important to balance the wants with the needs of the district. Value and data play a role in fiscal decision-making and I look forward to learning more about how the Administration uses data to drive different aspects of the district budget.

I also believe there is opportunity for all governing bodies in Elmhurst to collaborate on community projects that result in win-win financial situations, continue to enhance our community, and in the most cost-effective way for all residents.

Do you support Black Lives Matter and what are your thoughts on the demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake?

See my answer below regarding equity and D205.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

A priority of every school district should be to make every student feel safe, welcomed, and respected at school regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I think our District has done good work in this area, but there is always more to do to achieve that goal. The demonstrations we saw over the summer have reignited difficult and important conversations around race in our country. It is important that students in our district learn how to have these conversations in a civil, respectful manner. I have great confidence in our teachers and our District administrators to do this important work in age-appropriate ways, and I look forward to hearing more about those efforts at the Board level.

What are your thoughts on the district’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic? Are you in favor of remote learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two? Do you support a mask mandate for students and school staff, or mandatory coronavirus testing for both students and staff?

I believe the optimal learning environment for students is to be in class with their peers and teachers. I am a strong supporter of maximizing the number of minutes and days our children are in person learning each week while maintaining a robust remote learning environment for students who learn from home.
My goal is to work quickly toward fully and safely reopening our schools. Recent studies have provided ample information supporting the opening of schools and their ability to implement safeguards that limit transmission. We all look forward to seeing updated guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health that reflects what we have learned about the virus and how to successfully reopen schools. We are already seeing this happen as the state has begun to welcome athletic and extracurricular programs back to high school campuses this past week.

I would be in support of creative solutions that benefit our students and increase the amount of in-person learning they engage in every day and week. To do this, I am in support of District wide efforts like increasing staff to ensure buildings are cleaned more frequently, ensuring adequate inventory of PPE like face masks and hand sanitizer, and other items needed to work with all students while developing the logistical plans to safely move in, out and throughout our buildings. The data have shown that when internal measures such as mask wearing and enhanced cleaning are strong and strictly followed, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools is low.

Finally, I am interested in investigating site based mitigations that may be implemented based on the individual and varying facilities of each of our school buildings if those efforts result in more opportunity for in-person learning in our schools.

When the vaccine is available to them, do you support mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for students and staff?

I believe vaccination can be strongly encouraged and also believe the ultimate decision is a personal choice that should take into consideration an individual's health. I would be concerned about the legal implications of such a mandate imposed by the District.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

There is no reason I would not serve a full term.

The best advice ever shared with me was ____________

It’s all about the relationships.