Lake County Gazette

Lake Forest resident Lori Fitzgerald is running for the District 67 school board seat, hoping that her business career will help while sitting on the board if elected.

Fitzgerald said all the candidates shared a common goal of the success of all the students in the district, but she wanted to run for the board to bridge a gap.

"I believe we have a gap in communication and transparency between our community and our school administration, and I think our teachers and their students are in the crossfire," Fitzgerald said in a candidates' forum posted on March 14. 

Fitzgerald said if elected, her priority was focusing on getting kids back up to the academic level they should be on.

"I think, especially with our second- and third-graders, we need to make sure that they are reading and writing and getting them back on track to where they should be," Fitzgerald said.

The candidate said the school board also needs to take a look at finances.

"Remember that the average home in Lake Forest is valued a lot higher than the rest of the state, so, I think we need to really look at where we're spending our money and make sure that we're prioritizing it so that we're putting together programs that are actually going to help our children," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald does not believe that tracking students achieve equity in the classroom.

"When you break through the glass ceiling, you don't try to pull everybody back down underneath," Fitzgerald said. "You break the glass ceiling, and you reach your arm out and grab people, and you pull them up with you. I believe equity in the classroom can actually be achieved through technology."

Fitzgerald suggested virtual desktops on the school-issued Chromebooks. She said having students have the ability to access the software virtually at the school would help.

Fitzgerald said it was essential to be patient with students.

"I think each of them as individuals are still slowly starting to come out of their cocoons that they've been in for the past year, and I think we need to be flexible and patient in and meet them when and where they are ready in the classroom," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said in the short-term, the school board needs to do what is best for the students to get them back on track.

"Long-term, when you think about District 67, the two highlights that come out are we're a AAA Bond rated school, and we've got a great music program," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald questioned what about other programs, including English, literature, science and math.

Fitzgerald said the school board also needs to look at the administrative model and make sure it's doing as it should and not just "beefing up" administrators.