Jordan Rosen-Kaplan, a former senior class president at Evanston Township High School, says he’s backing one of his former teachers, Russ Kohnken, for the District 202 school board.
My name is Jordan Rosen-Kaplan, and I was the President of the Senior Class at ETHS, 2015, the Executive Director of the Ambassadors Program in 2014-2015, the Commencement Speaker in 2015, and I now attend Stanford University.
I am writing to you in strong recommendation of Dr. Russ Kohnken for 202 School Board.
Doc K is undoubtedly the most qualified candidate to serve on the ETHS Board.
Doc K used data analysis from our performance on his tests, as well as historical trends in test performance, to refine his assessments year after year. As a student at one of the hardest STEM universities in the world, Stanford, I have yet to encounter a test as hard as Doc K’s infamous final exams.
These exams, however, were not just meaninglessly difficult; instead, they were some of the most well thought-out, carefully designed assessments I have ever received. While his commitment to respecting data and using their information in actionable ways is admirable, what speaks louder is the effort he put toward this level of understanding of his students. Doc K went above and beyond to tailor his classroom to the specific needs of his students to ensure they received the most optimal, personalized education possible. If it is his commitment to bettering education that qualifies him to serve on the Board–and it surely is–Doc K has proven himself when no one was watching.
It is also more than worth mentioning that while Doc K upheld and furthered the Chem/Phys curriculum, he was also a teacher for Regular Chemistry
class.Not only is his ability to teach a wide range of students commendable, but he was, in fact, so interested in the experience of a group that goes largely undiscussed at ETHS, that he volunteered to teach their class. Doc K fully immersed himself in an experience that he knew would challenge him in a different way because he cares about students. Again, Doc K demonstrated that his conscious is so good, so keenly tuned to his environment and his commitment to education is so strong that he consistently went above and beyond for his students. All of them.
He was committed to listening, to the data, to his students, and to what he thought was right.
It would a rare opportunity missed to not elect Doc K to the ETHS Board.
Thank you,
Jordan