A 22-year-old recent college graduate and the mother of a star basketball player who died in 2018 are among those hoping to clinch seats on the Thornton Township High School District 205 Board this spring.
Though much voter attention has been on the Thornton Township and Dolton municipal elections in February, four 4-year school board seats will be on the ballot. District 205 includes Thornton High School in Harvey, Thornwood High School in South Holland, and Thornridge High School in Dolton.
Incumbent board members Almetta Vasser-Moody, Bernadette Lawrence and Ray C. Banks are vying to keep their positions, while Sonja Kristen Bradley, Rory Lee, Kawania Caesar and Annette Whittington also seek seats.
“It’s about time we get fresh new faces on the board,” said Caesar, who lives in South Holland but was born and raised in Harvey. “I’m just ready to work with the community and see different things.”
Caesar is a graduate of Thornton High School, and her 16-year-old son attends Thornwood.
She is also the mother of Chelby Frazier, who died in 2018 at age 21 while playing basketball with friends at Thornton. Frazier, a Thornwood graduate, has since been honored by the district with a yearly memorial shootout, the next of which will be held at the school on Jan. 19.
Caesar said her son’s death brought her closer with the district and is part of what inspired her to run. She said she has also driven school buses for feeder district Harvey 152 for the past 25 years, getting to know countless students.
She said she is aware of the political drama surrounding local municipalities and is hoping to keep district affairs separate.
“This is the school board, this is for kids,” Caesar said. “The township, the trustees and all of that — they are two different things to me.”
However, Caesar’s goals may unintentionally overlap with outside jurisdictions. She said she hopes to “give kids more outlets” through developing a variety school programs within the communities the district serves.
Caesar said she is running independently but is hoping to partner with Lee and Whittington.
Bradley, the fourth newcomer, hopes her high school and college experiences qualify her for her own position on the board.
The 22-year-old grew up in South Holland, and said as a Thornridge student she was part of the student board of education that represents the student body in advising the regular board on policy and procedure.
“I was very passionate about being a student advocate and a student leader,” Bradley said. “Once I went to college, I would come back every summer and work for the district so I could help those incoming student board members.”
Bradley graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign last spring with a degree in food science and human nutrition. She has since returned home, driven to join the District 205 Board with the goal of putting students first.
“I do understand that with experience comes that credibility,” Bradley said. “And I also feel like at the same time, we need to have that other perspective, so that they can understand how the students are feeling.”
To do that, Bradley hopes to bolster the district’s post-secondary preparation, as she said she struggled to keep up with students she met around the country once she began college.
She hopes to create more opportunities for students to learn advanced study practices and grow more confident academically to best succeed after they graduate. She said other priorities are ensuring students are supported in their mental health throughout high school and expanding extracurricular options.
“We’re going to build them (up) so when they leave, they’re not worried about being from Dolton or South Holland or Harvey,” Bradley said. “They’re just grateful they came from a village that supported them.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com