To help inform voters on who’s running for Chicago’s elected school board, the Chicago Tribune 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 Jason Dónes, candidate for elected school board in the 3rd District, below.
About the Candidate
Name: Jason Dónes
Age: 36
Neighborhood: Humboldt Park
School District: 3
Education: Bachelor’s, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Current Job: Chief of people & operations at Beyond100K, a non-profit focused on ending the STEM teacher shortage
Previous Political Experience: Local school council chair for Moos Elementary, CPS Instructional Equity Working Group member, Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher Network member for the Illinois State Board of Education.
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.
Have you worked at Chicago Public Schools or another school? What is your background in education?
I am a Puerto Rican Humboldt Park native. I am the only child to a single mom who has earned minimum wage her entire life. I am a proud product of Chicago Public Schools (K-12), former teacher, and lifelong leader in education. I went to a neighborhood school, magnet school, and selective enrollment HS, and I understand a low-income parent’s struggle to find the highest quality education for their child in this town. I also have a deep perspective on the systemic inequities that have created that struggle. I graduated from UIUC in 2010 and have spent the last 14 years serving Black and Brown communities in a variety of educational roles. My son now goes to Moos Elementary, where I am in my 3rd term as elected LSC Member and Chair. I am a highly involved, respected, and deeply collaborative member of my school community. With my day job, I serve as Chief of People & Operations at an organization dedicated to ending the STEM teacher shortage by improving the school/teaching conditions for Black, Latine and Indigenous communities and educators.
My education leadership journey started as a near-peer mentor in City Year Chicago in the West Garfield Park community. I transitioned to teaching full time at one of the earliest unionized charter schools (same school I had served with CY). In 2012, my first year teaching, our charter union voted to strike in solidarity with the CTU in an effort to support the cause. Realizing I had more to learn, I searched for pathways to certification and found TFA. I was placed at Talman Elementary in CPS, joined the CTU, took graduate courses, passed content exams and the edTPA, and was proud to finally return to the school system I grew up in. I transitioned to TFA staff where I served as a coach, Culturally Responsive Teaching specialist, founding Anti-Racism & DEI Council Member, and head of program. During that time, I also partnered with CPS as a member of the Instructional Equity Working Group and with ISBE as a founding member of the Diverse & Learner Ready Teacher Network. There, I co-wrote and helped pass the state’s first ever culturally responsive teaching standards.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
I am running for fully staffed and fully funded neighborhood schools. I am running to nurture and advance the progress we’ve already made. I am running because I am committed to the idea of a community-led education movement. Through my seat, I hope to elevate parent and educator voices and help everyone in my district to feel like they have a seat at the table. I am running for my mom who had to work twice as hard to get me to a public school outside of our community in a broken system. I am running for my son and his friends who attend our neighborhood school and, like all of the students and families in this district, ultimately have the most to win or lose as a result of what this elected board is able to accomplish. I am running for elected school board because I am in education for the long haul. I am running to fight deceitful policies that some claim to be ‘fair and pragmatic solutions’ while they hurt communities of color. I am running against further privatization of our public schools. And, I am running against the fear-mongering that pits working class families against each other. I am a former teacher and current parent who is on the ballot thanks to other parents and teachers who believe in me. I am from the community I wish to serve. Over the course of a 14-year career in education, both locally and nationally, I have led through teacher strikes, coached educators during the height of COVID-19, drafted statewide policy, and led a Local School Council. I understand public education in granular and macro ways. I have experience in a host of collaborations in our education system, and that has put me in the best position to serve the most marginalized families. My passion for strengthening our schools and my vision for a quality school within walking distance of every home keep me in this fight. At my current role, I now have the privilege of serving nationally and have access to school systems and policymakers across the country, at a time when the soul of our public school system is at risk. I lead confidently, transparently, and collectively. And, now that the board will be designed to stay accountable to the public, I know I can step up and do the job.
How would you describe your district?
We have a lot going for us in District 3. From our committed teachers and collaborative parents to a wealth of community organizations, we have a lot of talent in the area. We also face many of the systemic challenges seen across the city, including under-resourced SPED teams, access to quality afterschool programming, and the wraparound needs of our working class families that impact student achievement. Funding, and all the ways that manifests, is our biggest issue. And those disparities are clearly visible across school communities. None of our schools are as well-resourced as their suburban counterparts; however, in this district, we have some of the best schools in the state blocks away from schools harmed by continued disinvestment. Our magnet and selective enrollment schools are amazing and deserve to stay strong and resourced. Our neighborhood schools are beautiful and in need of reinforcement. Just this past year, our local school council had to help weigh the decision on whether to invest in restorative justice programming or a more effective math curriculum because we could not have both. That is not a choice a school should face annually. Should I earn this position, part of my responsibility will be to advocate for the funding that is needed while also partnering with parents and community members on what an equitable resource distribution can look like. No one wants to lose out, and no student should, but our neighborhood schools will die without intervention. Our district overwhelmingly wants to be able to trust in–and invest in–the schools that are close to home.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
I would describe my campaign platform as values-forward and grounded in a responsibility to every student in Chicago. I am focused on reinforcing and providing high-quality neighborhood schools because that is the only way we can hope to provide for all families. I am focused on policies which can reverse decades of disinvestment and school closure because I believe all students can achieve if provided agency and access. To do that, we need: fully funded support staff, bilingual education resources, trauma and culturally informed practice, and a system that truly supports students with disabilities and students with special needs. I would describe my platform as a true public school platform where power is given back to the people.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
If I were to sum it up, it would be access. Access to quality, affordable transportation to and from school, adequate support services, high-quality schools near their homes, and necessary resources to support students with a variety of needs, whether they are new arrivals to our city or families looking to have a positive experience obtaining an IEP.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
Here are the top four priorities I would have as your District 3 Board Member:
- Equitable Funding Across the District — My first order of business would be to analyze and strengthen the systems we use to allocate the resources that go to neighborhood schools. Nurses, case workers, engineers, teachers, SECAs, qualified admin, adaptive spending, and more are all necessary aspects within this plan. Our system currently relies on the creativity of parents and school staff to stretch a dollar and cover as many positions with as few people as possible. I intend to audit and understand our equity and opportunity metrics. That will enable us to level the playing field and restore confidence in our public education system by working to fully fund our schools. All children deserve well-resourced schools like many of our suburban neighbors have, and we should accept no less.
- Elevating Student, Parent, and Community Voices — I will work to better understand the ways in which students and families are overlooked as the best advocates for quality schooling, and I will center the voices of those most often marginalized and excluded from decision-making bodies. This will be done in the form of student surveys, LSC and parent group listening tours, school visits, and faculty meetings. It’s crucial for our school leaders and teachers to have the freedom to decide what truly matters for their students. It is essential that our students and parents play a key role in defining what is best for our learning community.
- Neighborhood Schools — My second priority is to strengthen and support our neighborhood schools. These schools are essential for working-class families and provide a critical link to quality education within their communities. By focusing on neighborhood schools, we address local needs directly and ensure that families have access to a high-quality education close to home.
- Rejecting Privatization and Reinforcing Public Accountability — Supporting labor rights and ensuring that policymakers stay accountable to those on the ground is essential to a transformative school community. I am committed to rejecting efforts to privatize our schools. And, I will fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the rights of all who play a role. That includes instructional staff, like teachers and SECAs, to our essential lunchroom, security, custodial staff, and more. Our essential workers deserve respect, support, a living wage, and supportive benefits, as they are the backbone of our education system. I also fight to elevate parent and student voices and ensure that the people in charge feel accountable to the public–not to private interests.
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?
We need to increase the size of the pie—not keep fighting over the scraps. I believe we must be laser-focused on getting the funding that CPS, and this district, is owed by our state legislature. This elected board made up of parents, experienced educators, and community organizers will have a renewed responsibility to advocate for funding public education at a higher level, and I fully intend to use it.
Aside from that, we do have to deal with this fiscal crisis in the short term. I want the board to review administrative overhead and non-essential costs to determine if we are using our resources as well as we can. I help manage our school’s budget as a Local School Council Chair, and I want to lean on that experience. There, we consistently collaborate with parents and school leaders to maximize student outcomes, despite serious financial constraints. At my current day job, I manage a multi-million dollar budget, and every day, that involves tradeoffs to balance equity, impact, and need.
Finally, I would support a third-party independent audit of CPS. Now is a time where the public needs to know how their tax dollars are being spent. An audit would provide an unbiased assessment of CPS’s financial practices, which is essential for identifying inefficiencies and ensuring funds are directed to the most impactful areas. Financing the shortfall with a loan or tax incremental is just one tool to manage this crisis, and I am not convinced it’s the optimal one. Loans and TIFs and scary because we cannot afford more taxes or future finance problems. I will not, however, accept that a high interest loan or under-funded schools are the only two choices.
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 appreciated the report’s focus on neighborhood schools and ensuring all students have access to a joyful and rigorous learning experience. The report articulates a vision in which we do not have to settle for less in some communities. And, in general, I thought it represented a healthy array of intentions for our CPS system, from increasing math and reading scores to fighting absenteeism to expanding funding and support in under-resourced schools on the South and West sides. I like that I read a vision for equity across the district. Leaning on my experience with long-term strategic planning, I would expand on the strategies listed by adding language that better defines what we’ll do to ‘improve’ or ‘strengthen’ programs and offerings. I would also expand on what feels like the least present priority stated: Inclusive and collaborative partnerships in every community. Sustainable Community Schools are the centerpiece and a powerful model for what this can look like; however, what is the responsibility of a school that is not yet an SCS? What are the ways in which every school can strengthen the connection between their school community and the neighborhood resources at large?
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?
The schools in my district have seen a significant increase in students who are new arrivals to the U.S., and while these students bring incredible diversity, culture, and resilience, they also face unique challenges that our schools must be prepared to address–from housing to language barriers. Many of these students come from loving families in difficult circumstances and require more than our standard suite of supports — they need language assistance, mental health services, and help navigating an entirely new education system. CPS must take strategic action to accommodate these students by expanding bilingual programming, hiring more multilingual staff, and providing wraparound services that address both academic and non-academic needs through their welcoming centers’ program. In addition to these centers, CPS should increase partnerships with local community organizations that are already doing incredible work to serve new arrival families. These organizations have deep roots in the community and can provide additional support, from housing assistance to legal services. Strengthening these partnerships will help us connect families to comprehensive resources both inside and outside the classroom, creating a more robust support network for students. As a co-author of Illinois’ first culturally responsive teaching standards, I am deeply committed to equity and believe CPS must invest in teacher training around culturally responsive practices and trauma-informed care to create an affirming, inclusive environment for all students.
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?
To address inequities, we must first recognize that they are tied to race and class. This issue is well researched and documented. We need to be prepared to put historically under-resourced communities in the policy-making driver seat. Members of the Black Student Success Working Group, for example, have already provided a well-researched blueprint for closing the gap for Black students: ensuring that curriculum at all CPS schools is culturally relevant, leaning on wraparound services already available in African American communities, recruiting more Black educators and more. These are practices that work and lead to greater achievement. Our newly elected board must keep energy high for black student success and turn these priorities into action and metrics for success for both Black and Latine identifying students.
I would address the opportunity gap by first reinforcing our neighborhood schools with equitable funding and wraparound community services. It is hard to provide diverse pathways and educational opportunity when facing annual disinvestment in your neighborhood. STEM, arts, trades. Access to high rigor advanced curriculum and world languages. It must all be made available in the West and South side. The only way to reverse decades of disinvestment is to start decades of investment.
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 share the belief in boosting our neighborhood schools because that is a way we can provide for all families. But I believe it’s a “yes, and” situation. All students deserve to have good schools close to their homes. And, we have some of the most high-performing schools in the country in the form of our selective enrollment institutions. I myself benefited from that as a student in CPS. I think the most important thing to focus on is increasing our resources so that we can properly fund all schools in the system, not pit one kind against another. We can be proud of our best schools while also facing the facts: our current model relies on a limited number of spots in a system where the school does the choosing. Every 7th grader in the city knows that they are testing for their lives right now, and it is no different than it was 30 years ago. My mother was told by my neighborhood school teacher “you need to put Jason in a lottery, because our school cannot provide for him.” I do not view that as the ultimate and most equitable version of our system.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
As a board member, I would advocate for–and collaborate on securing–additional funding for busing. If we need more buses then I would reinforce efforts like we saw recently where CTU and CPS collaborated on a state grant and secured 50 new electrical buses. If we are not recruiting or retaining bus drivers, I would advocate for fewer barriers to entry, better pay, and better working conditions. At the end of the day, if students cannot get to school they cannot learn. If we have a scenario where students need to get to school outside of their home community, then we need to provide a way for them to reach it. I rode that yellow bus. My mom depended on that yellow bus and I would make sure that our efforts tackle the root issues rather than prioritize the cuts that pit our families against each other.
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
I have attended a few public bargaining sessions and I have observed that transparency, leadership, and partnership go a long way. There are many unions operating within our schools who want to see our public schools reinforced–some of whom recently secured new contracts. These are not easy conversations but it is my belief that everyone at the table ultimately wants what is best for students. At the end of the day, it is important that we continue to support our collectivized labor force in CPS and manage the resources that we have well. I believe a mediator was a step in the right direction. I believe the real challenge is the collective struggle to show our governor and state lawmakers that this school district is worth investing in and the sooner we can partner on securing the resources we need, the better.. Your average citizen wants the adults in the room to fight their fight but ultimately figure it out for the sake of our students. As a school board member, my plan would be to utilize my strength as a connector and bridge-builder and help all parties do right by our students, families, teachers, and staff.
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?
We can reinforce the schools that our low-income families and students with the greatest needs attend, or we can continue to pretend that a system in which a few of them can attend our best schools is working. The district should start by listening to teachers who teach reading to better understand what they view as our highest leverage strategies. Growth in any success metric requires a balanced commitment to talent, programming, and community involvement. I would analyze and reinvest in the strategies that helped Chicago lead the pack in post-pandemic reading recovery. But, the formula is not that complicated: To generate great learning, you need great schools. That means a school culture grounded in belonging so that students want to come to school and are set up to learn. It means having a sustaining healthy faculty including a well-equipped school leader, supported teachers, talented SECAs, and well-respected support staff of all kinds.
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
Our current set of charter schools serve thousands of students, and I want those students to succeed. All of our schools can and should be successful. However, I cannot support charter expansion while our neighborhood schools remain underfunded and I reject the further privatization of our public schools. I am an advocate for transparency, oversight and collective bargaining. Any publicly funded school should be accountable to the public, including its students and workforce. Charter schools do not all meet those conditions and until they do, I reject the so-called ‘school choice’ platform which ignores root issues and a history of disinvestment.
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?
School safety is the number 1 concern for most parents, and we do not all agree on how to get there. I will use my platform and experience as both an educator and parent to help our families understand the power of a well-resourced school close to home and the purpose of a Whole School Safety Plan. The safest place for my son is close to home. The policies best positioned to promote a safe and healthy environment for him and his peers is one which understands how to nurture the whole child.
School safety begins with school culture and the prioritization of restorative practice and social-emotional resources. Some parents, even those in Black and Brown communities, have come to believe that zero-tolerance and policing are the only ways to create safe school environments, and I will work to shift hearts and minds. The school-to-prison pipeline is real. I will use the privilege of my position to help elevate schools we see doing this well and share best practices across our safest, most affirming schools. As a teacher, I noticed that violence in schools is most often the result of bullying, ineffective discipline practices, and genuine boredom. Attack the problem at the root and our schools can be safe.
Finally, our students can tell you what a safe and affirming school looks like and so I will center their voice in this conversation. I will work to expand initiatives that elevate student voice and help our teachers create safe & healthy learning environments.