NCTV17 Candidate Interview
Adam Russo from Video Production on Vimeo. |
A Little About Me
I've been a Naperville resident for over 20 years, and have three children, one elementary, one junior high, and one high school. I'm a Clinical Social Worker by training, and owned a business in Naperville until June of 2020. I've been a practicing clinician for over 20 years, with experience working in our community as well as residential placement for DCFS wards.
Over the past decade, I've actively volunteered with D203 on various committees like the SEL and Community Business Partnership committees as well as in the classroom with the INCubator program. My practice has hosted students for the high school Health Fair, and I've given many presentations on mental health at no cost by working with the different Home and School associations within the district. I served on the Board at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce from 2012-2018. Two of those years I served as Board Chair. I'm also a TEDx speaker, and the author of Unwritten Rules: Real Strategies to Parent Your Child into a Successful Adult.
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My Focus
I always thought I would run for school board, and the events of the past year have helped me decide that now was the time.
If elected, the following would be main areas of focus:
If elected, the following would be main areas of focus:
- Ensure that Full Time, in person learning, occurs in the fall. I would be open to mitigations should community spread determine it necessary. But Full Time school must occur.
- Address the Pending Achievement Gap. With kids receiving remote learning for almost a year, there is going to be an achievement gap that exists, it must be fixed quickly.
- Social and Emotional Learning. Anxiety and other mental health struggles were an issue for kids prior to the pandemic. We've seen it worsen. The CDC reports an increase of about 20% in kids 5-12 needing emergency mental health care, and about 33% for those 12-17.
- Soft Skill Development. Many studies conclude that success into adulthood is dependent on the development of soft skills and not grades, GPA, SATs, or GPA. Ensuring that there is an educational focus that goes beyond the measurable is something that will benefit all students.
- Fiscal Responsibility.