Danielle Mobley, Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 School Board Candidate

OAK LAWN, IL — Danielle Mobley is running for her first term on the Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 school board. There are six candidates running for three open seats in this race.

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Early voting is now underway in Cook County. The consolidated election is April 4.

Read Mobley's questions to the Patch candidate survey.

Your name: Danielle Mobley

Age (as of election day): 34

Town/city of residence: Oak Lawn

School district: 123

Family: Husband (Nick) Son (Caleb-9) Daughter (Ella-6)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? If yes, please explain. Yes, I am an attorney for the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office

Education: Reavis High School Graduate; Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and Legal Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield; Maters of Paralegal Studies at George Washington University; Juris Doctorate from The John Marshall Law School (now known as UIC Law)

Occupation: Attorney

Campaign website or Facebook or other social media: VoteMobley123; Facebook Page: Danielle Mobley for Office

Previous or current elected or appointed office: none

The most pressing issues facing our (board, district, etc.) are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

The most pressing issues facing our district are learning loss and school safety. I intend to learn about different ways to deal with these issues from statistical data, teacher/student experiences, and looking at how other districts similar to ours handles these issues to see how we can improve on each issue. For example, our learning loss shows in regards to the data of 2022 scoring in Math and language arts. We are on par with growth in math and language arts, but are below average with proficiency in those areas as opposed to the state. To help improve on these numbers, I would look at what the districts who are excelling and seek out their curriculums to see what they are doing differently. Regarding school safety I would look at our current policies and see where we can improve both in first response and initial intervention programs. It is important that our schools in the district be safe spaces for our kids to grow and learn without fear.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

We are all parents but all have different careers and expertise in working with children that would bring something to the table. My career as a lawyer has given me great communication and research skills that others may not have. I also come from a family of educators from mental health staff, teachers in every level - preschool, grade school, and high school – and an administrator I get most of my knowledge of inner school workings from their experiences. As a brownie troop-leader I get to teach young girls the importance of leadership and get to see the different ways children learn.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

I feel that the current board failed the district when it comes to bullying and remote learning days. Specifically, the board needs to hold any allegation of bulling – including an allegation from a student about a teacher – more seriously. Our children should be free to express themselves without fear of being bullied by anyone, especially by a person who they are supposed to trust. As a school board member, I will take the time to investigate the allegation as fully as I can.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

I am running on three key issues – (1) student learning and success (2) school safety, and financial equity. The pandemic hit grammar students extremely hard. This is the first year that they are close to normal, with field-trips, no masks, no quarantines, etc. The children are learning how to socialize for the first time since the pandemic and how technology can hinder and help their learning process. We can use the technology to teach our children, but we also need to teach them how to use that technology for learning not just for fun. We need to also help them learn how deal with their big emotions. If we do that we can help make these students become tomorrow’s leaders.

As for school safety, the schools need to have better polices and procedures in place to make sure when we drop our children at the door for school every day the only worry anyone has is how awesome their school day is going to be. School should be one of the child’s safe spaces, because not every kid has a safe space to be themselves. No child should be in fear of going to school.

Finally, I would like to see what we can do with reducing the school fees and finding a way to go back to free lunches for all children. The cost of living has risen in the last year and most families have more than one child going to school at a time. As a mom of 2, where both parents have full-time careers we still struggled to make the payment for school fees this year. I can’t imagine the single parent, grandparent, or caregiver who can’t even afford one fee. It is important for us to look closely at the demographics of our community and find a way to allocate more money to the school so those fees are not as high. We should be able to get school funding from the government and return to free lunches so no child goes hungry.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As a founder of Grandma’s Gamblers, a non-profit organization that provides comfort and care to children battling cancer, I know how to manage financial decisions, and make sure we have enough funds to pay for any events or fundraisers we decide to do. I also wrote an article that was published in the Review of Intellectual Property Law Review. My research skills will help me handle any issues I do not know about. As an attorney I am willing to ask the hard questions and face adverse issues head on to make sure we come to an informed decision. Finally, as a public defender I have won many cases for clients that have been hurt by the judicial system. That experience will help me be an advocate for all parents to make District 123 a better place for our children.

Why should voters trust you?

I am a mom with 2 kids in the district and my experience as a lawyer has given me the skills to look at both sides of controversial decisions and apply them equally to the situation. I am willing to research issues to make an informed decision on every issue.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

I would consider our proficiency percentage in math and reading growing a big accomplishment that would make my term in office in a success.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

I believe in transparency and making sure that every dollar we get for the schools in our district is used in a way to make the district a better place for our children. We should utilize any government assistance for the school programs that can help our kids and teachers grow. And taxpayers should be able to look where we are spending their money and should come to the meetings if they have any opinion on how we are spending that money.

What are your thoughts on how the district has handled the COVID-19 pandemic?

I believe the district handled the COVID-19 pandemic as best they could. It had never been done before and they adapted as best they could. One thing that could have been better would be the e-learning. E-learning was a great way to finish the school year. It started out as a structured classroom which was fantastic, but then turned into the students and parents learning the information on their own and doing the work without teacher help. This became difficult to maintain and I believe that is where the learning loss started. Even today when there is an e-learning day, instead of a structured class day, students are sent home with packet or assignment on SeeSaw that definitely takes longer than one day to complete but if they do not get it done they are marked absent. We need to take a hard look at e-learning days to see how we can improve it and make it less stressful on the parents and students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some school boards saw extremely heated disagreements during public meetings. If elected, what changes, if any, need to be made to ensure meetings are run efficiently while still allowing open discussions?

The current format of using 5 minutes for comment per each person is a good way to start. We don’t want to limit the comments to topics because parents should be free to come to the meetings and voice their opinions on what is going on in their child’s schools. We could also hold a separate meeting for public comments prior to any big decisions being made so each parent has an opportunity to voice their opinions.

How do you feel about sex education being taught in school? Should an LGBTQ component be included, and why or why not?

Sex education is important for our children to learn about their changing bodies and how babies are made. I think that an LGBTQ component does not necessarily work in that aspect but it can be touched upon during the education for the middle school. Inclusion

What are your views on critical race theory and whether it should be taught in the district?

I believe Critical Race Theory is very important to our community and should be taught in the district. It is important for our kids and even our adults to learn about every culture and race within US history. Representation matters and it should be included in our teachings to make sure the teachers are utilizing anti racism techniques and we are able to have dignified discussions regarding our history with other races and cultures.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

I believe there needs to be a more diverse staff between the schools so the children are seen. Representation matters, and having an adult with personal experience on an issue will help the children better understand it. My third grader has learned more than I did about racial inequalities and culture and I am so proud of that. We need to continue to have that be accessible to the children. It promotes a better understanding of everyone and does not prejudice or single out any one person.

When it comes to student achievement, what are schools within this district doing well and what needs to be improved? How can those improvements be made?

From the School Report Card, Sward has an exemplary rating, and the rest of the schools in the district have a commendable rating. We need to look at each school independently and figure out the areas where they can improve. We can also look to Sward’s policies and see what they are doing differently than the other schools to see if that can work at the other schools. As to the middle school we can look to schools outside of the district that excel where the middle school is lacking. Looking to other schools and their data is important to see where we can improve as a district. A district-wide policy may be needed so the quality of education is exemplary at all schools and not just one.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family? No.

The best advice ever shared with me was: The best advice ever shared with me is a quote I read by Nelson Mandela “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”