District 2 is located on the Far North Side of Chicago, covering Rogers Park, West Ridge, Edgewater, Andersonville and Lincoln Square. The district also touches the eastern half of Albany Park and North Park.
Here’s what to know about the race in the 2nd District. For a look at how the elected school board will work and more on the races in the other districts, click here.
Who’s running?
There are four candidates running in the 2nd District: Ebony DeBerry, Kate Doyle, Margaret “Maggie” Cullerton Hooper and Bruce Leon.
How much money has been raised?
The most pricey elected school board race in the city is in the 2nd District, with roughly $688,000 raised among the four candidates through Oct. 21.
Leon has proved to be the biggest fundraiser in the district thus far, amassing $245,000 in contributions. But the other candidates have also been flexing their financial muscles: DeBerry has raised around $202,000, Cullerton Hooper has fetched roughly $149,000 and Doyle, approximately $92,000.
What are the candidates’ campaign platforms?
Ebony DeBerry
What is your background in education?
I am a graduate of Chicago Public Schools, a former Gale teacher, a former Gale Local School Council member, the current president of Gale Grows Kids and an education organizer with ONE Northside. As an education organizer, I’ve grown parent mentor programs from one school to eight. In these schools, I work with principals, teachers and parents, mostly women of color, to provide voluntary service in classrooms where additional support is needed.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
As an education organizer, I have had the honor of being an integral part of Illinois’ Grow Your Own (GYO), a teacher recruitment program focused on placing teachers of color in front of students of color. With GYO, I supported parents, adult learners, and community members as they balanced busy lives while working towards their goal of becoming teachers.
In 2012, I fought alongside many others against the mass school closures. To this day, Gale School, where I was developed and taught, is still here because of the education organizing and power-building I helped lead. As an organizer, I believe those most affected by the issues have the answers. I continually build power with my community and make decisions in collaboration with others.
I believe decision-making in relationships with others is the precedent that needs to be set after our first elections for this board. As the only candidate with almost 30 endorsements from groups and individuals that represent thousands of people, I am the candidate who can do just that. My work and life experience have revolved around the betterment of students and families in my community. If elected, I am committed to elevating their voices and setting priorities with them.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
CPS should prepare young people to be confident and capable in their adulthood. A school board can achieve this by ensuring mental health support, art programming, a strong curriculum, and investing in extracurriculars to produce students who are as well-rounded as possible. As a board member, I hope to strengthen our neighborhood schools’ resources and create more community support throughout our school system. I received a quality neighborhood education and was able to explore the arts and have a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. My desire to run is influenced by the fact that I want those opportunities for all of my community members.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
I want to ensure that all of our students, regardless of where they live, can attend a quality school within walking distance of their homes. As a parent, I know that the decisions made about a child’s education are incredibly personal, and I want to ensure that no parent feels that they must make the sacrifice of a long commute that can preclude a child from building relationships close to home for their child to learn.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
This campaign is people-powered. We have volunteers and supporters knocking on doors with me nearly every day, calling our neighbors to ask for their votes, and showing up strong and proud for community events like forums. This campaign is also about listening. An elected school board member has a duty to represent the people’s best interests; to do that; we have to listen to their needs. And finally, this campaign is about equity and power. As the only candidate in this race with recent in-class experience and the founder of a nonprofit dedicated to diversifying our teacher workforce, I know that before we take action, we must understand the problems and hear from those who are impacted the most.
To read this candidate’s questionnaire in its entirety, click here.
Kate Doyle
What is your background in education?
My broad, deep education experience makes me perfectly suited to bring fresh perspectives to Chicago’s public school system.
Although I have not been a Chicago Public Schools employee, I am about to be a CPS parent who will send my son to our CPS neighborhood school. I have been an attentive CPS observer (in virtual attendance at more than ten recent CPS Board meetings), informed by the expertise I’ve developed working on the front lines of big-city public education.
I have worked as a special education teacher (and proud AFT member) in a high-needs high school in the New York City Public Schools, in corporate communications and social impact, and for the last seven years, I have been running KindWork, an award-winning nonprofit organization I launched to help low-income young adults break through barriers to prepare for and enter careers in tech industries.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
First and foremost, I am running for the Chicago school board because every child deserves access to a high-quality education from pre-K through 12th grade, and every family should be able to rely on their neighborhood school to deliver that. All our schools must be fully funded, thriving and equipped to provide students with daily learning experiences that prepare them for success after graduation. As a soon-to-be CPS parent, this mission is personal—I’m running for all our kids.
I am also running because our system isn’t working as it should. CPS is facing significant fiscal challenges, and we need leadership that can make the most of available resources while fighting for the funding our schools need. It’s not enough to have strong policy ideas; we need board members with operational expertise and consensus-building skills to ensure our district runs efficiently and effectively. With my business and nonprofit experience, I bring that knowledge to the table.
We need a responsible and independent voice who will advocate for our students above all else. As a working mom to a future CPS student and a former special education teacher in high-needs public schools, I understand the real challenges our schools and families face, and I am ready to bring that perspective to the Board of Education. Further, I am not beholden to any group with a stake in school board decisions other than the students of Chicago and their families.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
I am running as an independent, progressive candidate. I am running to bring experience and expertise as an educator, a communicator and an education policy professional to the CPS Board, but I am not, and will not ever be beholden to any special interest group, whether that be CTU, the charter school lobby, machine politicians or anyone else. I support public schools, including and especially neighborhood schools, while believing we should not cut selective enrollment and other school choices like magnet schools. The number one priority in our schools needs to be addressing the deep inequities in the district, particularly in communities of color, English language learners and LGBTQ+ students — and everything I do on the school board will have this focus in mind. We must work to increase student outcomes across all student groups and do more to publicly measure the district’s progress toward student achievement goals.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
The largest issue, and also my top priority, is the achievement gap (and closing it). To close the achievement gap, we must close the opportunity gap; this is particularly evident in third-grade reading scores when students transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” This milestone is an indicator of future success, and right now, most students are not meeting it, nor are they at grade-level proficiency in math. Furthermore, the disparities in proficiency by ZIP code and race are staggering and show that there is a massive opportunity gap within CPS.
Improving achievement for ALL students requires directing funding equitably to ensure learners who need extra support receive it. Students with disabilities must receive their full-service minutes and the education they need to thrive. We must strive to be a district that can confidently say we are doing right by ALL our students, especially those furthest from opportunity.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
My top priorities are improving student achievement, improving special education and enhancing post-secondary pathways. We must close the opportunity gap, especially as it becomes clear in third-grade reading scores. This critical milestone is a key predictor of future academic success. To improve achievement for all students, we need to allocate resources equitably, ensuring that those who need additional support receive it. Students with disabilities, in particular, must receive their full-service minutes and the education they need to thrive. On the post-secondary front, we must create clear pathways for success. Whether students choose to attend a four-year college, pursue unionized careers in the skilled trades or engage in other meaningful post-secondary opportunities, they must be fully prepared. Enhancing work-based and service-based learning opportunities for high school students will give them the real-world experience they need to excel in their chosen paths.
To read this candidate’s questionnaire in its entirety, click here.
Margaret “Maggie” Cullerton Hooper
What is your background in education?
I am the only candidate running in District 2 with children currently enrolled in a Chicago Public School. I have served on the Hibbard Elementary Local School Council for eight years, as a community representative, parent representative and chair. As a member of my LSC I have led a principal selection process and have assessed and approved eight school budgets.
I am also a trained parent organizer with Raise Your Hand for IL. I lobbied for an equitable ERSB map and have testified at board and committee meetings on numerous pieces of legislation. These experiences have allowed me to build a robust network of relationships with parents, teachers, staff, and administrators at CPS schools across the city and partnerships with elected leaders at the city, state, and federal levels.
Professionally, I worked in partnership with the arts education team in my role as the Deputy Commissioner, Partnerships at the Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events. When I was promoted as the Chief Philanthropy & Partnerships Officer for the entire city of Chicago, I worked closely with teams across CPS to develop policy, execute programs, and build critical partnerships with organizations including Kids First Fund, the Crime Lab, and the Education Lab.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
I’m running because I am a mom, an advocate and a public servant. I know that I am the best candidate to represent District 2 on Chicago’s Elected School Board.
I am the only candidate running in District 2 with children currently enrolled in . What sets my candidacy apart even further is decades of advocacy in Chicago’s nonprofit & government sectors, my record of successful policy development & implementation and my extensive experience managing multi-million dollar municipal budgets.
I am running because I am a person with disabilities, parenting a child with disabilities, and have been on the ground, in our schools, fighting for our kids. There has never been a person with disabilities sitting on the Chicago Board of Education. It is absolutely essential that someone with direct, lived experience have a seat at the table where decisions are made. Diversity without disability is not diversity, full stop.
I’m running because I believe our schools deserve someone with a record of fighting for our kids. I will bring an independent, parent voice from a historically underfunded neighborhood school.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
The statement driving my candidacy that I will carry with me as a Board member is, “my child cannot succeed unless every child succeeds.” To me, this means that so long as CPS is rife with inequity and continues to deprioritize the experiences and success of Black and brown students, English language learners, LGBTQIA+ students and families and students with disabilities, no one is succeeding.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
Inequity. A child’s race, family economic status, ZIP code or their parents’ ability to be consistently engaged advocates on their behalf should have absolutely no impact on their access to a high-quality, fully-funded neighborhood school that can serve them with the differentiation and specialization they need and deserve.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
From the beginning of my campaign, I have remained the only candidate to publicly release robust, detailed policy plans on the myriad of issues facing Chicago Public Schools. I encourage all voters to read through these at maggieforchicago.com. Four of my policies that have not been addressed in other questions here that I am particularly passionate about are: improving special education and realizing disability justice in CPS, prioritizing Black student success in Board decisions, totally reimagining community engagement and transparency in CPS and fostering LGBTQIA+ inclusion, equity and celebration in CPS.
To read this candidate’s questionnaire in its entirety, click here.
Bruce Leon
This candidate did not respond to this questionnaire by the time of publishing.
The candidates’ responses shown here have been edited for length, style and clarity.
