North Cook News

Francine D’Amico is a candidate for the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 school board.

“When my husband and I decided to move to Park Ridge, the schools were our main draw,” D’Amico told North Cook News. “Washington Elementary School had received the National Blue Ribbon Award so we focused our search in that area."

D'Amico though saw a decline in achievement.

"Recently, I reviewed the past five years achievement scores in reading and math and they were not what I expected," D'Amico said. Our reading and math scores are in the mid 50%. Reading and math are fundamental skills children need to to achieve success in their academic journey and in life. I’m running for D64 school board because I think we can do better. I think inspiring our students to strive for academic excellence should be the core focus of our district. Striving for achievement and excellence builds confident, courageous and resilient students ready to take on the challenges they will encounter in every facet of their lives.” 

D'Amico said a plan is needed to increase scores.

“If elected, I would like to work with the superintendent and the other board members to create a plan focused on academic achievement with the goal of increasing our test scores in writing and math for all District 64 students," she said. "I also think budget expenditures and policies should be reviewed to ensure every tax dollar goes towards meeting the goal.”

“Being a board member means working within a group that may or may not see issues the same way," D'Amico said. "However, I believe to be a successful board member requires listening, patience, understanding and respecting differences of opinion. That is what collaboration looks like to me and that is what I intend to bring to the board.” 

D'Amico has two children, a daughter in 5th grade in District 64, and a son who graduated from District 64 and is a freshman in District 207.

D’Amico will hold meet and greet on March 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Park Ridge Public Library at 20 S. Prospect on Park Ridge.

“My focus as a District 64 School Board member is to raise our ELA, Math and Science scores," she said on her website. She reposted numbers from IllinoisReportCard.com to make her case

 “57% of District 64 students met the English Language Arts mastery level. 50% of District 64 students met the Mathematics mastery level. 25% of District 64s Dynamic Learning students met the English Language Arts mastery level. 13% of District 64s Dynamic Learning students met the Mathematics mastery level.”

Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 oversees eight schools and 4,685 students. The district employs 399 classroom teachers and 397 other staff members.