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 Andrew A. Davis, candidate for elected school board in the 4th District, below.
About the Candidate
Name: Andrew A. Davis
Age: 68
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
School District: 4
Education: University of Chicago Lab School; Bachelor of Arts in economics, Beloit College
Current Job: Not-for-profit executive
Previous Political Experience: None.
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 was the Executive Director of The Illinois Student Assistance Commission for five years and led the six billion dollar balance sheet entity safely through the great recession. I then moved to the private sector and lead a start up Income Sharing funding company. Now I am the President of The Education Equity Fund, NFP which I founded five years ago. We help Chicago teachers pay for Principal training at UIC’s EdD program. My experience in education governance involves seventeen years on the Board of Trustees of Beloit College, the last five as Board Chair. I served on the LSC of the Newberry School.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
I am a life long Chicagoan and believe that the future of the city is dependent on turning around a system that currently fails two out of three students.
How would you describe your school district?
Mostly very fortunate.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
I propose that the Board charge CPS staff with dramatically increasing student achievement while also acting as prudent stewards of the taxpayer’s money.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
Two out of three third-graders are not reading at grade level. This can lead to nothing good.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
my focus is on student achievement, parent choice , budget transparency and financial solvency.
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?
I am opposed to any borrowing to fund current operations. I will work to merge Chicago Teacher Pensions with the state TRS. The state pays for the pensions of every other district in Illinois. Chicago should be included in that obligation. This will free up hundreds of millions of dollars for spending in classrooms to meet student achievement goals.
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 am generally supportive of the goals but skeptical of the methods.
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?
if we wish Chicago to be one of the great cities of the world we should view students that bring new languages and multi-language skill as a resource. I support the expansion of bi and multi lingual education in the many different languages that our immigrants bring.
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?
A city wide program that focuses on teaching all of our third-graders to read. In different neighborhoods and schools the resources needed to meet this goal will vary. We should meet that need.
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 support the effort to improve neighborhood schools. I also support the right of parents and students to have a selection of Neighborhood, Magnet, Selective enrollment and Charters schools to choose from.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
The role of the Board is to make policy. The role of the staff is to figure out the logistics. I support a policy of having sensible transportation solutions for every student at every school.
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
Teachers are of course the foundation and infrastructure of a school system. I favor robust compensation for them. I believe that the scope of the negotiations proposed by CTU are too broad.
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?
Similar to the question on transportation. The Board should challenge staff to create a plan that will double the rate of reading proficiency in the next five years. The Board’s job will then be to evaluate the progress and performance of staff in achieving that goal and also to insure that the reading program is the highest priority in the allocation of scarce resources.
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
Last week I had a long conversation with a Charter Executive Director. Renewal terms that are as short as two years misdirect staff time to an ever ending hamster wheel of renewal prep rather than running their schools. The terms should be extended. Funding for Charters should be allocated at parity with other Public schools. Charters should be included just as other Public schools are in Safe Passage, Capital spending plans and all dollars that flow from CPS.
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?
Inside the schools and on the grounds the Principals and LSC’s should be given great latitude in how they determine to keep children safe.
