What types of transportation do you and your family use during an average week, and how has this shaped your view of transportation policy for schools?

During a typical week, my family and I use a range of transportation options, including electric bikes. My husband owns a company called Electric Movement, and we're focused on developing electric micro-mobility solutions to help reduce carbon emissions. I believe schools should invest in sustainable and eco-friendly transportation alternatives, which would not only decrease traffic congestion but also foster healthier, greener communities. I would love to see CPS explore more alternative transportation options.

What are some of the transportation challenges that families and students face in your district?

Families and students in my district face several transportation challenges that complicate their daily commutes. Dense neighborhoods contribute to heavy traffic around schools, making drop-offs and pick-ups stressful and time-consuming. There are often not enough crossing guards to ensure students can safely navigate busy intersections. Additionally, many families struggle with the lack of affordable and dependable public transportation options, which leaves them relying on unreliable CPS bus services—or, in some cases, no bus service at all. These challenges create barriers to punctuality and accessibility, impacting both students' education and family routines. Addressing these issues requires a coordinated effort to improve traffic management, safety, and access to reliable transportation alternatives.

School pick up/drop off can be chaotic and at times unsafe. What are ways you think this could be improved?

School pick-up and drop-off can sometimes feel like navigating a busy intersection during rush hour, and it’s crucial we tackle this chaos head-on to keep our students safe. One effective approach is to collaborate closely with city officials, local law enforcement, and school safety personnel to identify the safest and most efficient travel routes for our students.

Imagine a system where we harness the power of data analytics and cutting-edge routing technology. By analyzing traffic patterns and school schedules, we can optimize bus routes, making them not only safer but also more efficient. This strategy won’t just enhance student safety; it will also help CPS save money and better allocate our resources. Together, we can transform school drop-off and pick-up into a smoother, safer experience for everyone involved.

Studies show that childhood independence is critical for individual development. How can Chicago Public Schools better empower families to allow their children to be able to navigate independently – and most importantly, safely – to and from school?

One effective way to empower families and promote childhood independence is by introducing "bike buses." A bike bus is a group of students who commute to and from school together on bicycles, led by adult volunteers along a designated safe route. This concept encourages students to develop independence while ensuring they travel in a safe, supervised manner. Additionally, CPS can support this by providing bike safety education, installing more bike lanes around schools, and working with local communities to ensure safe routes. Combining this with public transportation education and pedestrian safety programs would further empower students to navigate their surroundings independently and safely.

Most CPS students are offered driver's education when the time comes, but few are given the opportunity to learn about alternatives. What kind of educational opportunities around transportation do you think students should have?

Students should have access to bike training and safety classes starting in elementary school, which would promote safe biking as a viable transportation option from an early age. Schools can also partner with companies to teach the safe and responsible use of electric bikes and scooters, as micro-mobility is the future and will likely be a common mode of transport for older students. Additionally, a curriculum that educates students on how to safely navigate public transportation as an alternative to driving would be valuable. Finally, integrating lessons on the environmental impacts of different transportation modes into the curriculum could encourage students to make more eco-conscious transportation choices.

Increasingly,  a lack of busing has become a serious burden for many families’ day-to-day lives as services continue to be cut. What are some short-term and long-term solutions that you think would address this?

To address the growing issue of inadequate busing, a key short-term solution would be to partner with community groups like CPS Parents for Buses, who have already done extensive research and advocacy on this topic. In the immediate term, schools could help parents organize carpooling networks to ease the burden on families. For a long-term solution, we need to increase funding for transportation services and create a pipeline through CPS Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs to train and license high school students as bus drivers, in partnership with the Secretary of State. It’s also crucial to ensure that these roles offer a living wage to attract and retain drivers.

For many years now, Chicago Public Schools has failed to meet federally mandated requirements for accessible transportation for students with disabilities. How do you envision ensuring that students with disabilities’ transportation needs are met?

Addressing the ongoing school bussing challenges in CPS, particularly for special education students and those attending magnet and selective enrollment schools, is crucial to ensuring equitable access to education. I will prioritize a plan to tackle this issue. I want to start by acknowledging driver shortages. CPS must offer competitive wages, benefits, and incentives, such as signing bonuses, to attract and retain qualified bus drivers. Additionally, we have to work with city colleges or workforce development programs to create a pipeline for training and licensing new bus drivers and collaborate with our CTE program already in high schools to offer training and licensing new bus drivers. I will push for the use of data analytics and routing technology to improve bus route efficiency. This will help CPS save money and find more streamlined routes that make better use of existing resources. Another goal of mine is to collaborate with groups like CPS Parents for Busses, which have done a lot of research on this topic. I will make it a priority to ensure that all students in CPS have access to safe, reliable, and equitable transportation.