I highly recommend Sara Dixon Spivy to be re-elected to the District 200 high school board. I have known/volunteered with Sara and the issues she champions for more than seven years. She is passionate, compassionate, hard-working, level-headed, and thorough in her thinking process. She has served on the D200 board for the past four years to achieve a robust educational experience for each individual student. In other words, equity is her core passion.
Much has been accomplished during Sara’s four years on the board, including implementing progressive gender equity policy to protect transgender and non-binary students, beginning restorative justice training at all levels, founding the Tri-Board Equity Committee which makes recommendations to all three districts so there is K-12 alignment on equity initiatives; approving $32M in facilities improvements for ADA compliance, special ed spaces, and classroom upgrades; and creating a budget-neutral executive director of equity and student success position.
Sara is currently an assistant state’s attorney. Before that she was a Cook County assistant public defender for 15 years. She saw firsthand how inequities in our educational and judicial systems negatively impact the lives of many and, as a result, negatively affects us all. Also she has three children of color in Oak Park’s school system. Hence, her passion to achieve equity for all students. She clearly sees the big picture.
While the board’s equity accomplishments over the past four years are noteworthy, Sara has no illusions about what still needs to be done and wants to continue to build on the progress already made. For starters, she wants to expand restorative justice practices, hire more faculty of color, and fund athletic facilities improvements through private donations.
Vote for Sara Dixon Spivy to keep the ball rolling.
Myrna Lovejoy
Oak Park
