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Strong Schools, Strong Communities

A Candidate for You

About Karen

A classroom with red cinderblock walls. In front of a sliding white board, backs to the camera, are a white woman with a short haircut and purple blouse, showing work to a student with short dark hair and a black t-shirt.

Experience

I know today’s classroom issues

  • 29 years of teaching experience, across multiple grade levels from elementary through high school
  • Won the National Middle School Association Teams that Make a Difference award for our middle school team’s highly effective literacy program 
  • Co-founder of Uplift Community High School 
  • LSC member as a parent: 1989-95, as a teacher, various years
  • Only board member or candidate with recent teaching experience including through COVID, proliferation of cell phones and AI, and newcomer arrivals.
A school auditorium with burgundy curtains. In the foreground center of the photo, a white woman in a blue patterned tunic blouse is speaking at a microphone. Behind her, to the right of the photo, three men in suits sit in the auditorium chairs. To the left of her, in front of the stage, a man in a pink button down shirt shits in a folding chair facing the audience. Behind him, a woman in business casual attire sits behind a laptop at a folding table.

Advocacy

Education Justice and More

  • Member of Parent Equalizers of Chicago which got a racist reading program removed from neighborhood schools 
  • Ran a lead poisoning program that tested hundreds of children for lead poisoning and initiated campaign to remove lead from Stockton School 
  • Leader in Northside Action for Justice, working against privatization and school closings, fighting for low-income housing, and safe communities
  • Part of the team that fought for the elected school board and implementation of Sustainable Community Schools and is currently working to build the Uptown Sustainable Community School Village
A panel table on a temporary stage in front of windows with pulled white shades. Three people are at the table. On the left is a Black man wearing a flat cap and turned to the middle, listening. In the middle is a Black woman in a black headscarf and glasses, holding a microphone and speaking. On the right is a white woman in a yellow t-shirt and glasses, reacting to what she's hearing.

Commitment

What you can expect from me

  • Press for full and fair funding from state and local progressive revenue sources and equitable use of those funds
  • Promote improvement and expansion of the holistic and transformative model of Sustainable Community Schools
  • Ensure that schools have support for developing robust restorative practices
  • Regularly visit schools, religious institutions, and community organizations to be accessible to members of my district
  • Work to improve the food so that significantly more than 60% of students eat lunch
  • Empower a broad range of students to provide input and participate in the implementation of changes at their schools

Contact Us: info@neighborsforkarenzaccor.org

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