courtney Mcdonough
district 203 nths school district
candidate video
responses to voter guide questions
1. Why are you running for school board and what are your qualifications?
I believe deeply in the value of public education and the role it plays in developing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. I have devoted my professional and personal life for the past 25 years to advancing the education and well-being of children of all ages. In addition to experience earlier in my career as an elementary school classroom teacher, I most recently spent nearly a decade working at Compass Health Center as a Director of Education supporting students struggling with mental health challenges and successful functioning at school and home. My experience is vital at a time when so many high school students are struggling nationwide and at New Trier.
During my professional career, I have gained extensive first-hand knowledge of how schools operate and how students and families navigate the academic and social-emotional aspects of the school experience. I have partnered closely with school administrations and staff and with parents, and my years of professional and volunteer experience in developing techniques to find common ground between these stakeholders will be invaluable to the Board.
Finally, I am a proud New Trier parent, and I share all parents’ desire for New Trier to provide an excellent education and for my children to graduate ready to become well-adjusted and successful adults. My professional experience and personal investment in the New Trier community will help me keep the developmental, social, and emotional needs of adolescents and their families at the forefront of the Board’s work.
2. What are your top priorities for D203 and what do you hope to accomplish as a board member?
A top priority for me as a member of the School Board will be to serve as an informed advocate for our students and our community and consider multiple perspectives to better understand issues facing our District. I do not bring a specific personal agenda to the Board but instead will rely on my deep experience in education and ability to develop strong partnerships withadministrators, teachers, and parents to ensure that each student has an opportunity to reach their full academic potential while experiencing social-emotional well-being. I will also strive to help our District achieve the implementation of its strategic plan, New Trier 2030. The Board’s responsibility for this strategic plan includes reviewing and approving goals and strategies, measuring success, and driving accountability. In particular, I commit to the following areas of focus within the strategic plan: (1) enhancing the student experience, where the District continues to create a culture of belonging for all students; (2) meeting the complex needs of our students, which involves evaluating student support systems to help maximize student success; and (3) long-range planning for staffing, an increasingly vital focus area given a national teacher shortage and anticipated retirements. It is a priority of the Board and its individual members to guide the school toward meeting these goals and all Board objectives in a fiscally responsible and value-driven way.
3. How should D203 address the different needs of all students?
Every student comes to New Trier with unique goals and challenges, and New Trier must seek to help each student realize their potential and achieve their goals in a safe learning environment. New Trier currently uses multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), a data-driven approach to identifying gaps and efficiently servicing students’ needs. I believe that D203 should use this platform to deploy a wide range of tools to ensure that we are providing all students with the opportunity to thrive. An important duty of a School Board member is to review outcomes, qualitative and quantitative, across various student cohorts and hold the District accountable for meeting the needs of all students. Beyond serving students directly, D203 must ensure that teachers have simple and consistent access to information about available programs, instruction on how to refer students to supports, and continued professional development opportunities. A critical extension of this communication is clear messaging to the community to help enhance parents’ awareness of available services. It is also imperative that New Trier maintain a broad and accessible portfolio of extracurricular opportunities for all students to be able to pursue their passions and find a sense of belonging outside of a traditional classroom setting.
4. What are your views on New Trier High School’s curriculum?
I support the thoughtful and future-oriented approach to curriculum that New Trier is implementing today. This new framework – Characteristics of a New Trier Graduate – articulates the learning outcomes, competencies, and dispositions each student should have upon graduation: (1) Engaged Compassionate Global Thinkers; (2) Creative Critical Thinkers; (3) Healthy Resilient Individuals; (4) Effective Courageous Communicators; and (5) Innovative and Collaborative Problem-Solvers. These characteristics are appropriately designed to meet each student where they are and reflect vital capabilities both inside and outside of the classroom. I believe teaching and learning experiences should be designed to integrate these characteristics, and that an important role of the School Board is to review and hold the administration accountable for achieving these outcomes. I will seek to be active in the curriculum review and approval process, not as a curriculum expert but to ensure our curriculum is aligned and implemented with fidelity to our strategic goals. The District’s highly qualified teachers develop a broad range of rigorous and engaging courses of study that enable students to not only master new concepts and meet state standards but develop critical thinking skills to independently evaluate information and develop their own perspective and deeper understanding.
5. What do you feel the community’s role should be in public high school education?
I truly believe that the success of public education is a shared responsibility among a school and its students, families, and community. When families and community members are engaged in meaningful ways and considered integral partners, the District is better able to meet student achievement goals and communities thrive. It is imperative that the District encourages ongoing, open dialogue and invites parents and community members to share their opinions and observations. It is through this open communication that trusting relationships grounded in mutual respect are built and maintained.
I view a role on the Board as an obligation to represent the ideas and interests of the entire community, not a single constituency. My experience enables me to evaluate challenges with a wide frame of reference to ensure we are not marginalizing voices in the community.
I believe deeply in the value of public education and the role it plays in developing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. I have devoted my professional and personal life for the past 25 years to advancing the education and well-being of children of all ages. In addition to experience earlier in my career as an elementary school classroom teacher, I most recently spent nearly a decade working at Compass Health Center as a Director of Education supporting students struggling with mental health challenges and successful functioning at school and home. My experience is vital at a time when so many high school students are struggling nationwide and at New Trier.
During my professional career, I have gained extensive first-hand knowledge of how schools operate and how students and families navigate the academic and social-emotional aspects of the school experience. I have partnered closely with school administrations and staff and with parents, and my years of professional and volunteer experience in developing techniques to find common ground between these stakeholders will be invaluable to the Board.
Finally, I am a proud New Trier parent, and I share all parents’ desire for New Trier to provide an excellent education and for my children to graduate ready to become well-adjusted and successful adults. My professional experience and personal investment in the New Trier community will help me keep the developmental, social, and emotional needs of adolescents and their families at the forefront of the Board’s work.
2. What are your top priorities for D203 and what do you hope to accomplish as a board member?
A top priority for me as a member of the School Board will be to serve as an informed advocate for our students and our community and consider multiple perspectives to better understand issues facing our District. I do not bring a specific personal agenda to the Board but instead will rely on my deep experience in education and ability to develop strong partnerships withadministrators, teachers, and parents to ensure that each student has an opportunity to reach their full academic potential while experiencing social-emotional well-being. I will also strive to help our District achieve the implementation of its strategic plan, New Trier 2030. The Board’s responsibility for this strategic plan includes reviewing and approving goals and strategies, measuring success, and driving accountability. In particular, I commit to the following areas of focus within the strategic plan: (1) enhancing the student experience, where the District continues to create a culture of belonging for all students; (2) meeting the complex needs of our students, which involves evaluating student support systems to help maximize student success; and (3) long-range planning for staffing, an increasingly vital focus area given a national teacher shortage and anticipated retirements. It is a priority of the Board and its individual members to guide the school toward meeting these goals and all Board objectives in a fiscally responsible and value-driven way.
3. How should D203 address the different needs of all students?
Every student comes to New Trier with unique goals and challenges, and New Trier must seek to help each student realize their potential and achieve their goals in a safe learning environment. New Trier currently uses multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), a data-driven approach to identifying gaps and efficiently servicing students’ needs. I believe that D203 should use this platform to deploy a wide range of tools to ensure that we are providing all students with the opportunity to thrive. An important duty of a School Board member is to review outcomes, qualitative and quantitative, across various student cohorts and hold the District accountable for meeting the needs of all students. Beyond serving students directly, D203 must ensure that teachers have simple and consistent access to information about available programs, instruction on how to refer students to supports, and continued professional development opportunities. A critical extension of this communication is clear messaging to the community to help enhance parents’ awareness of available services. It is also imperative that New Trier maintain a broad and accessible portfolio of extracurricular opportunities for all students to be able to pursue their passions and find a sense of belonging outside of a traditional classroom setting.
4. What are your views on New Trier High School’s curriculum?
I support the thoughtful and future-oriented approach to curriculum that New Trier is implementing today. This new framework – Characteristics of a New Trier Graduate – articulates the learning outcomes, competencies, and dispositions each student should have upon graduation: (1) Engaged Compassionate Global Thinkers; (2) Creative Critical Thinkers; (3) Healthy Resilient Individuals; (4) Effective Courageous Communicators; and (5) Innovative and Collaborative Problem-Solvers. These characteristics are appropriately designed to meet each student where they are and reflect vital capabilities both inside and outside of the classroom. I believe teaching and learning experiences should be designed to integrate these characteristics, and that an important role of the School Board is to review and hold the administration accountable for achieving these outcomes. I will seek to be active in the curriculum review and approval process, not as a curriculum expert but to ensure our curriculum is aligned and implemented with fidelity to our strategic goals. The District’s highly qualified teachers develop a broad range of rigorous and engaging courses of study that enable students to not only master new concepts and meet state standards but develop critical thinking skills to independently evaluate information and develop their own perspective and deeper understanding.
5. What do you feel the community’s role should be in public high school education?
I truly believe that the success of public education is a shared responsibility among a school and its students, families, and community. When families and community members are engaged in meaningful ways and considered integral partners, the District is better able to meet student achievement goals and communities thrive. It is imperative that the District encourages ongoing, open dialogue and invites parents and community members to share their opinions and observations. It is through this open communication that trusting relationships grounded in mutual respect are built and maintained.
I view a role on the Board as an obligation to represent the ideas and interests of the entire community, not a single constituency. My experience enables me to evaluate challenges with a wide frame of reference to ensure we are not marginalizing voices in the community.