Jacob Jenkins for School Board 2023

Broad Goals

• Put students first
• Build stronger community partnerships
• "[bring] the community back into the schools as a way [to] help [stabilize] and engage families."
• Better board governance
• Support teachers and staff
• "[Prioritize] students, staff, district solvency and equitably allocating resources"
• "Paying teachers more and paying them what they're worth will make a huge difference."
• bring "new curriculums" and "trained staff to show teachers how to implement it"
• Jacob wants to make sure preparatory programs are not just for the "higher echelon of students", and that all students have access to them.
• "Work with union leadership and staff representatives to ensure staff levels and other staffing needs are addressed timely"

Specific Goals

• "Do better at our wraparound services for our students and our parents" such as mental health services and substance abuse treatment.
• "Make sure our teachers have the basics, like Clorox wipes"
• "I am running because 56% of students suffer from chronic absenteeism and there is no current board policy to address it."
• Ensure all board members do required trainings, including for the Open Meetings Act
• He wants more teaching assistants and staff in classrooms to manage distractions from educational time.
• Jacob says we need more restorative justice programs and that the youth needs to be able to buy into it.
• "Put together a five- to seven-year strategic plan that has benchmarks" & milestones "that can be celebrated along the way."
• "Put together measurable goals that can be documented and presented to the community that show their progress in those goals. "

Transparency Goals

• "Ensure that all communication is properly labeled, so that members of the community seeking communication will have easy access."
• "Ensure that all policies and procedures regarding board communication are in line with state standards and best practices."
• Ensure the "community, parents and stakeholders understand our vision, rollout plan timelines for strategic projects and rally public support for future initiatives."

Current Roles / Jobs

• Volunteer Programs Coordinator at Illinois Department of Human Services

Endorsed By

• Macon County Democrats. "Mr. Jenkins was a very active precinct committee person for the party until 2022. He declined to run for the position in that years primary," according to a representative for the Macon County Democratic Party.
• Decatur Labor & Trades Assembly

Past roles / Jobs

• Trained in WAIT - Watched Agression Interruption Training
• Has worked with the "second chance grant," and "many of the youth in this community that were a part of the criminal justice system."
• He says he is a "former union president"

Personal History / Info

• Age 44

Statements / Quotes

• Jacob Jenkins is running for Decatur School Board for "four simple reasons." He says we need to "reimagine public education" and put students first, build stronger community partnerships and "[bring] the community back into the schools as a way [to] help [stabilize] and engage families." And he wants to see better board governance and support teachers and staff.
• He says public education is "transformative [for] a community when executed well," and "there's still a great work to be done in this community."
• He says "there is no sunshine, there are no rainbows," critizing his opponents for suggesting that "if we just put everything out there, everything will be fine."
• He says "The one thing I credit our mayor on is that our business community here is strong and they will open up their doors to give the students in this district opportunities."
• He says "poor white and poor black students are in the same bucket when it comes to education"

Grievances

• He said CARES money could have incentivized teachers and afforded additional staff.
• Jacob says that School Board members cycling out every two years can affect accountability.
• He says there's a lack of transparency and a "flagrant disregard for the law", claiming the Open Meetings Act was "violated 16 times"
• He said that during previous board cycles, "They [locked] kids out of school that had disabilities."
• "I’m running because for far too long, we’ve been OK with declining academics, school violence and a board that lacks accountability, stability and credibility. "
• "We have a very high turnover rate for board members, superintendents and administrations." - Herald & Review
• "[Mark Reynolds] spoke about not having African American staff," but "we had a few black principals here and the district kind of ran them off, so we know we need more accountability when it comes to that and how we treat those that come into the community."
• Jacob Jenkins says the Board needs to acknowledge its past "bad decisions" to close down schools and put kids together, saying that putting Thomas Jefferson kids together with Stephen Decatur is what created the situation that led to police being called over 120 times in one year due to fighting and violence.
• Jacob also addressed Clevenger's comment about "good governance," saying that the Board has "only one employee", the superintendent, and that "when we cherry-pick superintendents to carry out [our] agenda, that too [needs addressing]." He says also doesn't "want to hold the superintendents' hand," but hold them accountable.
• Jacob Jenkins says "the first thing that we have to do is get our kids back into the classroom because they're not there," and says "72% of 10th graders suffer from chronic absenteeism, meaning they miss 18 days of educational learning," and that absenteeism crosses racial lines.
• "[some kids] can't fill out applications, some of them can barely sign their signatures, they don't have the soft skills or [other things] needed" to succeed in a job

Goals / intentions

• "The idea is not only to stabilize them in the classroom, but to also make sure that they have a safe environment at home where they can learn."
• He talks about proper use of Title 1 money, or a "pot of money that we get from the federal," saying it is intended to help with student achievement and bridge gaps. Jacob says Title 1 money is used for "English & Language Arts, reading programs, and all of those other things as mitigation strategies and interventions to get our students up to where they need to be." He says it includes "after school tutoring programs and the likes."
• "I’m running because school safety directly impacts all facets of this community."
• "I’m running because along with new curriculums, we need trained staff to show teachers how to implement it in the classroom and support their decision to use other approved resources."
• He says school violence is addressed by putting more people in the classroom and schools that "look like the population you're trying to address the issue with."
• He wants to work with community partners & faith baised organizations to have adults come in before school, during lunch hour, and at games to help quell violence and ensure safety.
• He thanked Will for bringing up "restorative justice & peace building initiatives," saying these have "worked very well in other places."
• When asked about LGBTQIA+ issues & black history, Jacob said "This is one of those questions that sometimes divide people, but right now, I'm worried about making sure our kids can read first." He also said "School Districts need to follow the law around whatever the subject is," whether it is "lgbt or black history"

Sources

• CONO Candidate Forum
• Jan 16th Interview
• Herald & Review 'Meet The Candidates'