Chanda Schwartz

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Chanda Schwartz

Nonpartisan

School District U-46 Board of Education At-large

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

April 4, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1999

Personal

Profession

Higher education administration

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Chanda Schwartz is an at-large member of the School District U-46 Board of Education in Illinois. She assumed office on May 1, 2023. Her current term ends in 2027.

Schwartz ran for election for an at-large seat of the School District U-46 Board of Education in Illinois. She won in the general election on April 4, 2023.

Schwartz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Chanda Schwartz earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1999. Her career experience includes working in higher education administration, software engineering, project management, nonprofit administration, board governance, and university admissions. Schwartz has served as U-46 Community Advisory Council chair, Unite U-46 Community co-chair, Alignment Collaborative for Education Operation board member, and DuPage Area Moms member and board of directors vice president.

Elections

2023

See also: School District U-46, Illinois, elections (2023)

General election

General election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large on April 4, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan E. Kerr (Nonpartisan)	20.5	11,236
✔		Kate Thommes (Nonpartisan)	20.3	11,097
✔		Chanda Schwartz (Nonpartisan)	16.6	9,086
✔		Samreen Khan (Nonpartisan)	16.3	8,932
	Submit photo	Maureen Morris (Nonpartisan)	13.8	7,567
		Heather Manzella (Nonpartisan)	12.4	6,791

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 54,709
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chanda Schwartz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schwartz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am seeking the position of U-46 School Board Member because I am passionate about serving and giving back to the community. I have lived in the district for over 21 years and have two students who attend U-46 schools. I started serving in the district to be a contributor and stay informed. I want to bring my experience and service in the district to the school board, be a voice, and support the needs of our students, teachers, staff, and community. I am committed to service, moving our district forward, and fostering the conditions for student success. As a parent, I have volunteered in various roles throughout the district. I currently chair the U-46 Community Advisory Council, and previously held the roles of CAC Vice-Chair and Co-Chair of the CAC Specialized Student Services committee. I also helped to facilitate the Unite U-46 work and community engagement sessions as one of the four community co-chairs and serve as an operating board member for the Alignment Collaborative for Education. I understand how to navigate the ins and outs of the district, advocate for students with special needs, listen to feedback/concerns, work collaboratively to solve problems, and promote community engagement. I am collaborative, thoughtful, and objective in decision-making. I believe that my volunteer and professional experience provides a foundation from which to contribute as a school board member.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Service to all constituents and making decisions that are best for the U-46 community as a whole.
• Willingness to listen and work collaboratively. Listening to feedback/concerns even when there is disagreement. Working together to make the best decisions to foster the conditions for student success, supporting our students, teachers, and staff so that our students can excel academically and be career and college ready.
• Fiscal responsibility and continuing to be good stewards over the district’s finances, maintain our reserves, and make sound financial decisions for the betterment of U-46.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Mental health and wellness support for all staff and students.

Curriculum that is engaging, innovative, challenging, and culturally representative of our district and prepares students to reach their full potential. Learning loss recovery, closing achievement gaps, and improve student outcomes.

Supporting our strategic plan, the transition of 6th grade to middle school, expansion of Pre-K, and addressing the disparities in our district amongst our aging facilities.

Addressing teacher/staff shortages and working to improve employee satisfaction/engagement.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected officials should have integrity, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, be transparent, build trust and relationships.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I understand how to navigate the ins and outs of the district, advocate for students with special needs, be a voice, listen to feedback/concerns, work collaboratively to solve problems, and promote community engagement. I am collaborative, thoughtful, and objective in decision-making. I am committed to service.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The primary job of a school board member is to work collaboratively with fellow school board members to make decisions, govern effectively, delegate responsibility to their one employee: the superintendent, monitor performance, accountability, build relationships with parents, students, teachers, staff, and the community.

Who are your constituents?

Everyone who lives in the U-46 school district area.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

U-46 is a diverse district, and it is important to understand the needs of our students, teachers, staff, and community by listening to their feedback/concerns to understand their needs and working together to meet those needs.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

Listening to feedback/concerns, building relationships and trust, and continuing to provide opportunities for community input and engagement is key. We are stronger together when we foster a sense of community and build relationships with groups, organizations, and stakeholders within our district.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

U-46 is in a better place financially. We are no longer operating in a deficit. We have reserves and a great financial rating. This provides an opportunity to address the disparities amongst our facilities in the district, support our students, staff, and teachers. We need to continue to be good stewards over the district’s finances, and maintain our
reserves, while focusing on areas of improvement. I would also like us to continue looking at other funding areas such as grants, and continue to utilize rebates, such as energy rebates.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

We are still learning the effects of Covid on our students and staff. We need to recognize gaps and provide supports to help our students catch up academically and recover mentally. The things that some of our students were
dealing with pre-Covid were still there during the pandemic in addition to the pandemic itself. We need to make sure students also have access to guidance counselors for issues that they are dealing with inside and outside of school. Addressing teacher burnout, providing mental health and wellness supports, trauma-informed care, and figuring out additional solutions to address staff/teacher shortages is also needed. U-46 also recently partnered with Care Solace, a mental health care coordination service, to help connect students, staff, and their families with quality care.

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

An environment where students can be their best selves, have the supports they need academically and mentally, and receive innovative and challenging instruction. The learning environment should create a sense of welcoming and belonging, be a safe place for students to learn to reach their full potential and become productive and contributing members of society.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

Partnering with parents, building trust, and providing opportunities for them to give input are some of the ways I will build relationships with parents. It is important to listen to their concerns, provide opportunities for them to give feedback and be involved in the district and their student’s education, as well as communicate what resources are available to support them and their students.

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

In addition to supporting the programs that U-46 currently has in place, such as Horizons4U and the partnership with Tennessee State University, it is important to encourage students who graduate from U-46 and plan to become educators or work in industries that U-46 employs to come back to work for U-46. It is also important to address employee satisfaction and engagement. Part of the district’s mission is to be a great place for all teachers to teach, and all employees to work. People who love working for the district will promote our district positively which also helps with recruitment.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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