I am supporting Marcus Croom for election to the District 97 school board because of his unique and thoughtful emphasis on instructional leadership.
I have been following Marcus’ campaign closely and believe that he will bring a perspective to D97 that simply cannot be replicated by anyone else. Anyone who has spoken to Marcus about his ideas for D97 knows that he has deeply considered the relationship between our school board’s deliberations on policy and our students’ experience in the classroom.
As I know from my service as a village trustee, local government involves all manner of “metrics,” or ways of measuring performance. When it comes to school governance, I believe the metrics can prove very tricky. Our school boards have to contend with matters of finance, curriculum and employment policies and procedures. The complexity of these issues is such that the board runs the risk of losing sight of the ultimate metric: our students’ learning experience.
Marcus Croom gets that. He knows that effective governance also involves more listening than talking, and that sometimes the best data can be a telling anecdote from a parent or a child.
He is also an experienced educator and eminently qualified for the position. He deserves your support on April 7.
Adam M. Salzman
Oak Park
