To help inform voters on who’s running for Chicago’s elected school board, the baiduhai education team posed a series of questions to the candidates in each district. These questions ranged from basic information on their background and campaign platform to their stance on several issues facing Chicago Public Schools.
See the answers from Karin Norington-Reaves, candidate for elected school board in the 10th District, below.
About the Candidate
Name: Karin Norington-Reaves
Age: 55
Neighborhood: Chatham
School District: 10
Education: Juris Doctor, Southern Methodist University School of Law; Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and literature, Northwestern University
Current Job: CEO of I.C. Stars
Previous Political Experience: Chair of Otis Elementary Local School Council.
Questions and Answers
In the interest of transparency, the candidate’s responses shown here are published as written and have not been edited by the Tribune.
Did you attend Chicago Public Schools or is anyone in your immediate family a CPS student? Yes, an immediate family member.
Have you worked at Chicago Public Schools or another school? What is your background in education?
I attended Shoesmith Elementary (K-2), Brenneman Elementary (2nd/3rd), Walt Disney Magnet School (3rd-8th), and Lincoln Park High School (Performing Arts program). All of my children have attended CPS, and one is currently enrolled. My son graduated from Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep in 2023. My daughter is in 6th grade at James Otis World Language School, where I serve as the LSC chair.
As the Executive Director of Teach for America (Chicago), I placed and supported over 200 teachers in Chicago Public Schools. I later joined Innovations for Learning as Director of Corporate Relations, connecting schools to corporate partners and implementing an evidence-based literacy program for K-3rd grades in schools throughout the city, including the 10th District.
While serving as Chief of Staff in the 20th Ward, I served on several education committees and was the liaison for schools within the Ward. I helped ideate and organize the efforts in Woodlawn to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone and improve the schools within that community (Woodlawn Children’s Promise).
As CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, I collaborated with CPS on numerous initiatives, including training CPS career counselors on the public workforce system’s resources to benefit high school students. I also developed, funded, and implemented programs for CPS students, such as integrating the SOAR centers with the workforce development system (moving them from co-located partners to integrated Hubs).
Finally, before departing The Partnership, I led the efforts to create the now annual skilled trades expo, which debuted in March 2022. Before that, it languished for a year without direction. I secured a budget, provided the framework, and led my team and our partners to a successful event that has been replicated twice.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
As a K-12 graduate of CPS, a Chicago taxpayer, and parent of a CPS student, I am running to represent families like mine who want to remain in the city we love and want quality schools for our children to do so. I am running for my daughter, who came to CPS as a newly adopted, blind English language learner. Despite my experience as a former teacher and attorney, I found the IEP process overwhelming and secured legal counsel for assistance. It occurred to me that if it was that complicated for me, what was it like for other families? So, I’m running too for the families struggling to navigate the byzantine IEP process to secure appropriate services for their student’s unique needs. I run for the families that aren’t even aware that their kids are entitled to such services.
I am running for the students who cannot read, whose career prospects will be severely constrained if they don’t make significant gains in literacy and numeracy. And for the students who graduate without direction, guidance, or support.
I am running for the families who contemplate leaving Chicago to find a better school system for their children and for the taxpayers whose hard-earned dollars fund our flawed but resilient system.
I am running to ensure that we have experienced fiscal and education stewards on the Board, to decrease partisanship, and ensure that our children are not sacrificed on the altar of politics. I run because we need competent, experienced leaders who understand what is at stake if we don’t get this right.
How would you describe your district?
My school district is like the tale of two cities in many ways. We have some great schools like Kenwood that are well resource and have phenomenal academic programs, but then we also have schools like finger and Julian where students don’t meet the state standards for their great level, and they struggle in literacy and numeracy, these schools, don’t have all the resources. The students need to succeed and the opportunity gap is appearing when compared to other schools in the district.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
My campaign is centered on my long-term vision for every child to attend a well-resourced, safe neighborhood school that offers a high-caliber education that meets them where they are, regardless of need, through expert educators while fostering a deep sense of belonging. This is my Northstar. We get there through intentionality and political will—by putting our money where our mouth is and funding the amplification of the things we already know work.
I envision a school district that fully equips students with the academic, social-emotional, and career skills they need to make meaningful contributions to our workforce and community. Fulfilling this purpose depends upon our ability to provide equitable education that addresses the student’s unique needs and allows for critical thinking, innovation, and career development.
Increasing literacy and numeracy skills for all students is paramount to moving us forward, as these are foundational for any long-term educational success. I would focus on standards-based instruction and test for mastery before advancing a student to the next topic/subject.
Career and Technical Education is only offered at a small percentage of the District’s schools, creating an inequitable system that leaves many students needing direction. Our schools need solid career readiness, exposure, and exploration for all grades 6-12 students. Other districts in Illinois require students to develop career plans as early as 7th grade and provide robust offerings for middle and high school students to help them discern their career path and, most importantly, be prepared for it. Chicago is behind in developing the career pathway endorsement as state law requires. As a workforce development practitioner, I would also champion this vital aspect of middle and high school education.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
School quality and access to high performing schools is the most important issue in CPS. Students compete for the top-rated schools and the educational quality among the other schools varies wildly. This is the tale of our city in some ways, but when we have high performing Level 1 schools that receive students from across the city it disenfranchises neighborhood kids who are equally talented but may not be aware of the selective enrollment process. We need to expand access to high caliber schools.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
My first priority is to address the pressing financial challenge faced by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) — a projected $500- $700 million deficit for the upcoming school year. My strategy centers on meticulously balancing the budget while safeguarding a commitment to equitably fund all schools, especially those serving our most vulnerable students. To do this, I will target waste and redundancies while streamlining resources. Drawing from my extensive experience in establishing successful public-private partnerships, I would aim to secure additional funding sources for CPS. These partnerships would not only provide financial support but also foster collaborations that enhance educational outcomes across the district. Beyond funding, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is woefully lacking. 40% of CPS graduates are neither enrolled in postsecondary education (college, skilled trade training) nor employed one year after graduation. Our schools have a duty to equip our students with the skills and opportunities needed to succeed in the workforce. Currently, CTE is only offered in a very small percentage of the district’s schools, effectively creating an inequitable system which leaves an overwhelming number of students without direction. CPS recently hired a new director of the Office of Diverse Learners Supports and Services. This was long overdue. As the pandemic bore out, special needs students were left behind due to lack of access and resources. However, these issues were only exacerbated by the pandemic—they existed long before. As a school Board member and mother of a special needs child, I will give voice to the community of families whose children have IEPS and 504s, the community of students who are dissuaded from inclusive classrooms, and the community of children who are enrolled in cluster programs. My priority is to ensure that every school in Chicago has a robust and inclusive special education program. It is unacceptable that parents are forced to transport their children across the city simply because their local school cannot accommodate or in some cases chooses not to provide inclusive education. I have personally experienced the challenges of navigating the special education system in CPS with my daughter, Rachelle, who was born without eyes. She is in an inclusive classroom and academically exceeds her sighted peers, but this is only as a result of my advocacy from preschool and beyond. Like many other students she endures long bus rides that begin at 6:30 a.m. and has returned home as late as 5 p.m. Sadly, others have no transportation at all, and the solution is insufficient. I will advocate for increased resources and funding to enhance special education services across all Chicago schools. This includes recruiting and retaining qualified special education teachers, providing professional development opportunities, and ensuring access to assistive technologies and accommodations for students and educators. I am committed to promoting inclusivity and accessibility in our schools. This involves creating environments where students with disabilities feel welcomed and supported, and where their educational experiences are fully integrated into the school community.
Given this year’s budgetary problems and disagreements on how to solve them, what do you propose for the district’s funding in future years? Would you support the district in taking on any loans in future years to fund the annual budget?
The district needs to do more than increase revenue, it must make the budgetary priorities align with the needs of students and teachers. Budgeting has to begin with schools in mind, not central office. And there is work to be done to decrease expenditures and ensure that the funds the District does have are spent effectively. I would strongly recommend an independent forensic audit to determine whether/where waste and redundancies exist. My guess is that an audit will reveal multiple opportunities for cost savings.
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Under the Emanuel administration the city closed 50 schools. Many of those remain vacant. The land is valuable as are the buildings. If these properties were either transferred to the pension fund, or sold for fair market value the resulting corpus could be invested. The buildings could also be renovated and rented to organizations or companies. Existing buildings are underutilized, service organizations could co-locate and rent space, with those dollars going to support school funding.
Red light cameras generate significant revenue for the city. Some portion of that could be used for pension deficits. Any future expansion of gaming and/or casino revenue should be allocated to meet adequate school funding and/or pension obligations.
CPS must engage more fully in strategic public/private partnerships to fill gaps in service for students and teachers. There are numerous tutoring and after-school programs, FQHCs and community-based health programs that would gladly partner with CPS. Additionally, thousands of companies call Chicago home. What has CPS done to deeply partner with them so as to invite substantial investment that could offset the pending reduction in funds? Careful planning for the reality that these funds would run out should have been undertaken from the moment they were made available.
I vehemently oppose taking on any additional debt to fill budget gaps. This amounts to little more than a payday loan in my opinion with no discernible repayment plan resulting in a further increase to a looming deficit. It is fiscally irresponsible to pursue such a loan. Moreover, it further decreases CPS’ financial ratings are already that of junk bond status (per an internal document cited by the baiduhai in a September 27, 2024 article by Alice Yin).
The Chicago Board of Education recently adopted a new 5-year Strategic Plan. Which aspects do you support and which would you change, if any?
I fully support all aspe aspects of the strategic plan most notably I’m looking forward to the increase of support surrounding students that have IEP‘s and have special needs and the black student success committee. I commit to fully funding both of these initiatives and working with our corporate nonprofit and government partners to make sure that students that fall within these categories have well resource programs and are given the best chance to succeed.
As thousands of migrant families settle in Chicago, how should the District handle the influx of English learners? What more should be done to ensure consistent bilingual education is provided and funded?
In 2021, even before the recent influx of asylum seekers, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) put CPS on a corrective action plan because the district was out of compliance with bilingual education requirements. To date, CPS still fails to staff bilingual programs and certified bilingual teachers at all schools that need them.
Compliance is critical, which means that all schools must abide by federal law requiring that our students receive education regardless of immigration status. First, we must have better screening for new arrivals so that we can connect families to schools. Second, schools should have access to ELL funding to meet these students’ needs.
For parents with work permits, we should replicate the programs designed by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. These programs empowered parents to become paraprofessionals and thereby earn wages while also keeping a presence in the schools. Programs that create a job pipeline for parents of new arrivals provide much-needed support within the school community. Philanthropic funding is available for dual-generation programming, which may align with this.
Collaboration with community groups serving immigrant populations is also critical. These groups can help navigate language and cultural barriers.
Do you believe the district has historically underinvested in South and West side schools? Yes.
If yes, what solutions would you propose to address inequities and opportunity gaps in the school system?
The current budget represents an effort at equitable funding, yet it misses the mark in many regards. Schools like Bronzeville Classical lost roughly $500,000 and several teachers, while one school gained 9 staff even though it only has 25 students. There isn’t much equity in that.
Equitable funding decisions should be made not in a vacuum but with context. Had the Board analyzed the impact of adding more teachers than staff at an under enrolled school they might have made a different decision. (Absent intentionality, simply adding staff does little to increase enrollment in a city where there are fewer students).
A significant challenge facing Chicago Public Schools is that 40% of students are neither enrolled in postsecondary education (college, skilled trade training) nor employed one year after graduation. Our schools have a duty to equip our students with the skills and opportunities needed to succeed in the workforce. Currently, Career and Technical Education is only offered at a small percentage of the district’s schools, effectively creating an inequitable system which leaves an overwhelming number of students without direction. In my role as CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership my team and I trained career counselors in workforce development resources and tools. That work ended many years ago. It needs to be revitalized. Our schools need solid career readiness, exposure and exploration for all students in grades 6-12. Other districts in Illinois require students to develop career plans as early as 7th grade and provide robust offerings for middle school and high school students to help them discern their career path, and most importantly be prepared for it.
Leveraging my prior experience, my work designing and implementing young adult and youth programming, private and public sector employer relationships, I can help shape policy that creates district-wide adoption of in-depth career readiness programming for all students.
Since his election, Mayor Johnson has indicated a desire to move away from school choice and bolster neighborhood schools. This was recently reinforced by in the District’s 5-year Strategic Plan. Do you share this position? Why or why not?
I am the product of CPS neighborhood, magnet, and selective enrollment schools. I recognize the benefits of all of them and support the right of access to each. We should not sacrifice selective enrollment schools for much-needed neighborhood schools.
The most recent five-year plan approved on September 18th seems to de-emphasize the original stance. I agree that neighborhood schools replete with resources are the ideal. Yet I believe that we don’t have to sacrifice one over the other to accomplish that objective. We must offer our students and families a portfolio of diverse schools that meet their diverse needs and interests. The “either or” narrative being pushed by some is a dangerous and corrosive one. We can equitably fund multiple types of schools without pitting one type against another, they can all co-exist. The reality is that 70% of CPS students attend a school outside of their community. Rather than removing options, we should ask ourselves how we got here and solve for that.
Parents want more, not fewer options for their children’s futures. The existence of a selective enrollment school does not automatically preclude that of a high-functioning neighborhood school.
We must provide intense instruction, extracurriculars, and supportive services at every school, but not at the expense of specialty schools. With effective budgeting, 9.9 billion dollars is more than enough to invest entirely in all school types. When done effectively, public-private partnerships, universal curriculum, and innovative revenue sourcing can be the key to properly investing in neighborhood schools without penalizing students simply because CPS failed to make equitable investment a priority.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
I firmly believe that every student should have access to free transportation to school. To achieve this, I am committed to working alongside community organizations to provide logistical training to parents. Additionally, I aim to establish partnerships with bus companies to help bridge the transportation gap. This initiative is crucial in ensuring that no student misses out on education due to transportation barriers. By empowering parents and leveraging community resources, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students to thrive academically
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
While the school board doesn’t have a direct say so over contracts, dealing with CTU teachers and principals I would encourage both parties to center the needs of students and be willing to give and take as much as needed to provide everyone the resources needed to fulfill our academic goals
In 2024, Chicago Public Schools’ average literacy proficiency rate is 31%, an increase from pre-pandemic years. These rates, however, were lower for students from low-income families, English learners and students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs). How should the district seek to improve literacy rates going forward?
First, we need preschool for all and mandatory kindergarten (I’m aware that this will become law in 2027). Early learning sets students up for lifelong success. This means affordable programs available to all families regardless of income and zip code. Next, we must ensure a uniform curriculum with room for differentiated instruction. This means meeting students where they are with a focus on mastery before advancing to new materials.
We must get to the root cause of the majority of our students not meeting literacy and numeracy standards. What we know of early childhood development is that poverty and trauma impact the brain’s receptivity to processing information. If we can address the barriers, we free kids up to access learning. We need trauma-informed staff/counselors at every school, social workers, and reading and math specialists who can intervene and provide supplemental support to those students who need it.
We must build capacity for inclusive classrooms where special needs students learn alongside their peers as much as possible. To do this we need more teachers with special education credentials and more, better-trained SECAs. (Perhaps now that their wages have increased, we’ll see more interest in these roles). We also need a full audit and searching examination of special education service provision—its strengths and shortcomings, coupled with a strategic plan to address the gaps. Money is but one of the issues, the other is political will and leadership. With the new Director of ODLSS, I’m hopeful for change. Teachers and principals need additional training and accountability with regards to special needs students. There is also a need for parent education. The current IEP process is burdensome and inaccessible for many parents. We need to do more to help them understand their rights and responsibilities.
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
Ideally, every student should be able to attend a local school and have their needs met there—this is not our reality. Thousands of families have left CPS because they felt they were done a disservice by our traditional public school system. More, not fewer options is what parents want.
I firmly believe parents should have the autonomy to choose the school that best serves their students. I fully support charter, magnet, STEAM, and selective enrollment schools as a viable option for families. CPS has systematically harmed many families across the city while deftly meeting the needs of others.
I understand the frustration regarding charter school regulation, but I believe ALL schools should be held to the same standard in terms of education quality. I firmly believe that we should implement universal curriculum standards to ensure that all students are provided with quality, culturally competent curriculum. High caliber standardized curriculum ensures educational equity and consistency across all schools. Currently, individual schools choose curricula at the principal’s discretion.
This leads, in part, to uneven outcomes district wide. A common curriculum promotes coherence in learning, ensuring that students who transfer schools don’t experience learning delays. However, balancing standardization with flexibility is crucial to accommodate diverse student needs while maintaining educational rigor and innovation. Our board has a responsibility to students first, and our role in oversight should be similar to our role within CPS, rate the schools according to set academic outcomes and balance the results with the overall need of the school community.
Please provide your thoughts on how to keep Chicago Public Schools as safe havens for students to learn and flourish fear of violence. How do you propose the district approach this?
Our schools must be safe havens that foster a sense of belonging while forming minds. We must be data hawks–this means reviewing trends and creating checks and balances to ensure that adults are not disproportionately and inappropriately singling out youth of color, particularly our male students. Moreover, implementing restorative practices focuses on healing, repair, and growth rather than punitive measures. We need Restorative Justice practitioners in every school, as well as additional training for all faculty and staff. Social Emotional Learning can also mitigate behavioral issues by teaching students self-awareness and self-regulation.
CPS must ensure that teachers and staff are trained to recognize, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and stress in children and adolescents. If schools cannot provide direct support on-site, referral resources and networks must be made available through partnership agreements. Students across the system must receive consistent and uniform instruction rooted in social-emotional learning (SEL). Currently, SEL is a focus within CPS, but not every school delivers the same caliber and depth of programming. All students need to be taught self-care and self-regulation so that they are equipped to recognize their own stressors, utilize tools to address them and be empowered to request support from a caring adult. Peer mentor programs are also effective to and through adolescence.
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We must collaborate with the Chicago Department of Public Health and other similar organizations operating in this space to boost capacity and properly support the school community. We must also examine nationally recognized best practices and apply those that best serve our District.