4 District 204 Joliet board candidates want district’s students to succeed

Improving student achievement and mental health are the top reasons Dan Coffey, Angela Huntington, Michelle Stiff and Damon Zdunich are running for positions on the Joliet Township High School District board.

The four candidates recently shared their thoughts via email on their concerns and possible solutions.

Election Day is April 4.

Dan Coffey

Coffey, who was appointed to the board in September 2021 when it had a vacancy, said the district’s success is important to him. He graduated from Joliet West in 1999, has two children at West and two who will attend.

He feels academic performance can be improved by improving mental health services. Because the counselors’ caseloads are too high, District 204′s board approved community partnerships with Thriveworks and Care Solace to help address, he said.

But, increasing full-time staff at both Joliet Central and Joliet West can give students access to immediate help and allow the counseling staff to spend more time with students on college and careering planning, Coffey said.

“We have a very diverse population within our communities and schools and our students have very diverse experiences,” Coffey said. “Our students deal with a variety of issues both in and out of school that affect their mental health, which in turn affects their academic performance.”

Angela Huntington

Huntington, assistant superintendent for student services at Lockport Township High School District 205, has one child who attends West and one who graduated in 2021.

She’s concerned with how schools address students’ needs. She wants to increase the graduation rate in proactive ways and feels she can contribute positively due to her “long history of advocating for underserved and underrepresented students.”

Students she’s served include “students with disabilities, English Language Learners, the unhoused, youth in care and in foster care, and students of color,” she said.

“Students who are at-risk of not graduating should receive intensive supports and services before they fail,” Huntington said. “Waiting for students to fail and then trying to patch together random intervention is not effective and does not work. A systematic system of support is necessary in order to ensure students do not fall between the cracks.”

Michelle Stiff

Stiff, director of the Workforce Services Division of Will County, District 204 board member and former teacher in Valley View School District 365U, said she wants District 204′s graduation rate to improve.

Possible solutions include engaging families to ensure students have needed supports through “communication, home visits and surveys,” she said.

For example, District 204 could provide supportive programming to improve the success of all student subgroups and provide a more “equitable educational platform for students to have a sense of belongingness,” Stiff said.

“My goal is to work tirelessly to make sure students and staff are safe in the school environment in which optimal learning can be provided,” Stiff said.

Damon Zdunich

Zdunich said he is a lifelong Joliet resident and feels good schools are necessary for Joliet to prosper. He is concerned about District 204′s score on the Illinois Report Card and if Joliet students are adequately prepared for life.

He believes that “education is the greatest equalizer in life” mostly because a good education will allow “people to escape from poverty.” Good schools also attract people who want to live in those communities, he said.

“Whether the student wants to attend college or get a good-paying job in the trades, they still need a good education,” Zdunich said. “If the schools can motivate the students in their career focus then naturally the students will perform better. With students engaged more, they will tend to do better in school and school scores will increase.”

The other three candidates for the District 204 board are Garrett Beene, Frank Edmon Jr., Thomas Fitzpatrick and Matthew Kennedy. They did not respond to emails from the Herald-News.