I write to share my strong support for Jonathan Livingston in the upcoming District 200 school board election. I first met Livingston when he was a fellow parent at our child’s school in Oak Park. At all times — without any election pending or on the horizon — Livingston was deeply involved in the school community and regularly volunteered in and outside the classroom. His commitment to education and our teenagers is rock solid and genuine.

I have since gotten to know Livingston as a leader in our community — someone who is deeply thoughtful, forward thinking and committed to improving D200 and the lives of our students. His priorities align with my own and, I believe, with the vast majority of the D200 community. For example:

  • He is acutely aware of our high school students’ deteriorating mental health. He rightly characterizes this situation as a public-health crisis and is committed to providing the necessary leadership in our community to combat it.
  • He understands that equity and excellence is not a “zero sum game,” and that D200 must consider and take account of all students’ strengths and interests to enable them to excel. With this in mind, he understands the need to provide more robust vocational- and skills-based training opportunities for our teens, as well as creating innovative certificate opportunities and identifying and strengthening connections to regional employers.
  • He understands that we must do more to build a racially equitable environment at OPRF. This includes establishing and maintaining instruments of accountability that ensure D200 follows best practices, fosters trust and improves recruitment and retention of teachers of color.
  • He appreciates the need for a greater emphasis on a high school-wide commitment to restorative practice. This will not just help replace a failed, punitive approach to discipline, but will open up respectful and reliable channels of communication at all levels of the institution.

Our challenges as a community are great — we need Jonathan Livingston on the D200 school board to help us meet them.

Noel Paul
Oak Park

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