WB_031419

14 | March 14, 2019 | The wilmette beacon NEWS
wilmettebeacon.com
New Trier Board of Education
Name: Cathleen Albrecht
Age: 58
Residence: Wilmette
Occupation: Principal,
co-founder and counsel,
Point Management LLC,
2005-Present; Partner and
Associate in mergers and acquisitions and
international transactions, Altheimer &
Gray, 1987-2000.
Past local government/relative experience:
I currently serve on the New Trier
H.S. Board of Education completing my
first term (2015-19) in April. This year, I
am serving as vice president. I also serve
as board representative on the New Trier
Facilities Steering Committee and the
Community Engagement Committee, and
am liaison to the New Trier Educational
Foundation. I previously served on the Finance
Committee and the Policy Committee,
and was liaison to the ECGC parent
group (which now is integrated within the
broader New Trier Parents Association).
From 2006-2014, I served two terms as
commissioner on the Village of Wilmette
Transportation Commission, a public body
which hears citizen petitions and advises
the Village Board on transportation-related
matters, and chaired the Commission
the last two years of my term 2012-14.
Throughout my children’s elementary
and high school education I also served in
various parent/PTO volunteer leadership
roles in Wilmette public schools and at
New Trier.
What do you think is the biggest issue
facing your coverage area and how do
you plan to approach it to improve your
constituents’ quality of life? Our priority
always should be to focus on our core
educational objectives so that each student
is challenged at the appropriate rigorous
level and is prepared as a graduate to succeed
in an increasingly complex world.
That preparation involves both student intellectual
growth and refinement of critical
thinking skills, and personal growth in developing
the social and emotional skills to
make responsible decisions for health and
well-being. Excellence in education also
requires exceptional quality in teachers
and staff, a school climate of acceptance,
a healthy, safe and innovative physical
learning environment, a community engaged
in partnership, and careful management
of taxpayer dollars.
The Board of Education recently approved
a new Strategic Plan 2030 which resulted
from a school and community–wide
effort to identify the frameworks (stated
above) and core values to guide us over the
next 10-plus years. Each year, the administration
and board will set specific goals
and measurable action items within each
framework to address then-current needs
and aspirations. For example, since recently
completing construction of the innovative
new learning space at the Winnetka
campus, our facilities focus now in the near
term is on expanding safety and security
initiatives at both campuses. Physical and
technological security upgrades have been
made to both campuses and will continue.
Some upgrades are public and visible, such
as adding double vestibules at visitor entrances
and enhancing the visitor identification
and registration process. New Trier
also is focused on expanding multi-tiered
support for the emotional needs and vulnerabilities
of our students, including through
additional programs and policies addressing
student risk behavior. And in all we do,
we must conservatively budget and responsibly
spend taxpayer dollars to reflect the
trust our community has invested in New
Trier excellence.
What makes you the best/a top candidate
for this position? I am pursuing a
second term on the New Trier Board of
Education to continue to give back to our
community in a substantive manner and to
New Trier High School specifically. There
is a steep learning curve in the first four
years on the board. I want to use the experience
I gained in my first term to further
lead New Trier into the next phase of 21st
century educational excellence while exercising
prudent financial management. New
Trier is a lighthouse District recognized as
one of the best public high schools in the
country. It is the reason we (and many others)
originally moved to the district with
young children. We are a vocal community
with justified high expectations for our
children’s education. It’s been my privilege
to be a voice for our community as a Board
of Education member. I have no personal
agenda other than to serve our community
as a thoughtful and independent voice on
the Board in support of New Trier High
School and the trust our community has in
us to govern wisely.
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