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Two former teachers and former CPS students are running to represent District 3 on Chicago’s first elected school board.
District 3 encompasses parts of Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, Avondale, Old Irving Park, and Mayfair. The candidates in the race are Jason Dónes and Carlos Rivas Jr., both of whom live in Humboldt Park.
District 3 has a total of 55 schools serving 31,598 students. Area schools include 10 charters, two magnets, and four alternative schools.
About 83.6% of the students enrolled in District 3 are Hispanic, 8.4% are Black and 5.3% are white. In comparison, 60.8% of the residents in District 3 are Hispanic, 7.1% are Black and 26.3% are white.
The district is home to the city’s highest percentage of bilingual students with 45.39%, while over 77.5% of students are identified as coming from low-income families.
No schools in District 3 are among the top 10% in the state for academic performance, while five are in the bottom 5%, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Both candidates say District 3 schools should provide more resources to neighborhood families, who are socioeconomically and culturally diverse.
The school board election is Nov. 5 and elected candidates will represent their district for two years.
Who is Jason Dónes?
Jason Dónes said his life’s work has been all about “empowering parents and working-class families.” Dónes grew up in Humboldt Park, graduated from Lane Tech High School, and is currently sending his son to Moos Elementary, their neighborhood school.
The 36-year-old is the Moos Elementary Local School Council vice chair and has previously taught and trained teachers in various CPS schools through City Year Chicago and Teach for America. Dónes worked on CPS’ Instructional Equity Working Group and helped draft Illinois’ first set of culturally responsive teaching standards.
Since the start of 2023, Dónes has worked for Beyond 100k, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing the STEM teacher shortage with a focus on attracting more teachers of color.
“In this district, you have students who cannot afford to be housed and million-dollar homes,” Dónes said. “The disparity across the student experience is very much available to see in this few mile radius.”
If elected, Dónes said he would focus on “reversing the systemic disinvestment” in District 3’s neighborhood schools. He also said the district needs to invest in more pre-K options and ensure schools are fully staffed with nurses, case managers, and special education professionals.
With issues such as book bans filling headlines in recent years, CPS should continue to focus on culturally relevant curriculum, Dónes said.
“My life is steeped in education at this point, I’m not going anywhere,” Dónes said. “If I don’t get this board position, this is still my chosen path for impact.”
Dónes has raised almost $20,000 for his campaign as of Sept. 13 — including more than $13,000 from Grassroots PAC, more than $4500 from the Chicago Teachers Union’s political committees, and $600 from state Sen. Graciela Guzman (20th).
Dónes has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, the Cook County Teachers Union, and the Coalition of Northwest Side Progressives, which includes U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, state Sen. Omar Aquino, state Rep. Will Guzzardi, Cook County Commissioner Anthony Quezada, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33rd), Ald. Danuel La Spata (1st), Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th), Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), and Ald. Ruth Cruz (30th).
Read Dónes’ full questionnaire responses.
Who is Carlos Rivas Jr.?
Carols Rivas Jr. was born and raised in Humboldt Park and graduated from Northside College Prep. He attended Lowell Elementary, his neighborhood school, and continued to help out at the school throughout college.
The 35-year-old did Teach for America and has taught at both CPS schools and UIC College Prep, a charter school. He also got a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Argentina and is vice president of the Fulbright Association’s Chicago Chapter. In preparation for his campaign, Rivas enrolled in the All Chicago Fellowship program, which was created to train potential school board members.
In 2022, Rivas began working for the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, as the director of public affairs. However, during his first few months at COPA, Rivas was placed on a special migrant mission. He worked at shelters and greeted the busloads of new arrivals.
Rivas is also a transitional foster parent, fostering unaccompanied migrant children who need to be placed in Spanish-speaking households before they are sent to an adult sponsor. Both of these experiences showed Rivas the importance of not only investing in bilingual programming at school, but also providing long-term support to help newcomer students process the trauma they underwent during their journey to Chicago.
Rivas said he would like to see schools in District 3 operate like community centers.
“If we can offer wraparound services at school, our families won’t have to go to multiple places,” Rivas said. “We don’t have enough community centers in Chicago, we don’t have enough safe places where people can do things.”
Schools could have counselors who help families apply for state benefits, access food security resources, and connect with health care services, Rivas said.
Rivas also said he supports investing in both neighborhood schools and select enrollment schools.
“Families deserve the opportunity to choose the best educational environment for their students,” Rivas said. “The board needs to fight for adequate resources across the district.”
Rivas raised a little over $11,000 for his campaign as of mid-July — including $3,000 from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, $1,000 from Lowell Elementary School Principal Gladys Rivera, and $250 each from former Chicago Board of Education President Miguel Del Valle and former Deputy Education Secretary Peter Cunningham.
Rivas does not currently have any endorsements.
Read Rivas’ full questionnaire responses.
This story was published in partnership with Block Club Chicago.
