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?

My children attend our neighborhood school in Albany Park so we walk to and from school every day. Other than walking, we take the el as a family 3-5 days per week. Prior to my working in Evanston, I took the el daily to and from work but I now work remotely and occasionally drive to Evanston.

I took the CTA Halsted street bus to and from high school, myself, from Roscoe to Roosevelt. While it was a very long commute, I have always preferred public transportation.

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

Our community school has students with disabilities who should receive consistent CPS provided bus transportation and shares a campus with Edison Regional Gifted Center where a large portion of the student body has been negatively impacted by the CPS transportation issues.

The vast majority of our students walk to school so our biggest challenges have been the inconsistent assignment of crossing guards.

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

In addition to more consistent presence of crossing guards, there are any number of infrastructure investments (bump outs, speed humps) that can further reduce the speed of traffic near schools. I would like to see additional supports for families and students to utilize bike transportation and mirrors or other solutions to the high number of blind alley intersections to improve pedestrian safety.

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?

Community partnerships that can be organized and implemented through our LSCs that would allow students and families to connect would be a great opportunity to organize walking collectives with kids across grade levels. LSC members, parents and trusted community members could also sign up for different posts along the route to ensure children are safe while still allowing them the autonomy and independence of navigating to and from school.

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?

I would love to see students offered education around bike safety, navigating public transportation options, and even explore the benefits of walking. Emerging generations have demonstrated a deeper awareness and concern around climate change and environmental issues - providing this instruction and guidance within the context of broader implications will further empower future generations to make informed choices and build sustainable practices for their daily lives.

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?

As a Board member, I will work closely with various stakeholders, including CPS Parents for Buses (who have proposed numerous well researched and concrete solutions) who I am proud to be endorsed by, to build a coalition to solve this issue. I would invite the union(s) who work with and for school bus drivers to identify long term solutions, understand the workforce pipeline, and address any systemic barriers to ensuring long-term strategies. I would also reach out to my network both in Chicago and other cities to understand how districts have successfully solved this problem in the past and to explore municipal policies that could be modeled here going forward.

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?

This is an ongoing issue that requires we look not just at providing the bare minimum mandates but also work to significantly improve upon the consistency, travel times, bus environments, and provision of accommodations to ensure students’ health needs are being met. In addition to identifying solutions described above, we must incorporate the experiences and recommendations of people with disabilities to ensure all policies are grounded in direct, lived experience.