Jason Dones
Jason Dones ran for election to the Chicago Public Schools school board to represent District 3b in Illinois. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Dones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jason Dones graduated from Lane Tech College Prep. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2010. His career experience includes working as an education specialist and policy advocate.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Chicago Public Schools, Illinois, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Chicago Public Schools school board District 3b
Carlos Rivas Jr. defeated Jason Dones in the general election for Chicago Public Schools school board District 3b on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Carlos Rivas Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 56.1 | 36,533 | |
| Jason Dones (Nonpartisan) | 43.9 | 28,642 | ||
| Total votes: 65,175 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kirk Ortiz (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jason Dones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dones' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Jason Dónes is a former middle and high school teacher and lifelong leader in public education. Only-child to a single mom with deep roots in Humboldt Park, Jason has spent the past 14 years working to improve learning outcomes for Black and Brown families. Grounded in his experience as a Puerto Rican Chicago Public Schools student and fueled by his responsibility as a CPS parent, Jason will continue his life's work by bringing representation to parents and working-class families on the Chicago Public School Board.
- Equity in School Funding — Jason stands firmly against the privatization of neighborhood schools, advocating for their protection and support. Instead, Jason will push for state-level policy reforms that provide consistent and adequate funding for all CPS schools. Many of our schools need major upgrades to basic things like bathroom plumbing and classroom windows. When we get the funding we deserve, we can achieve modern, safe, and healthy learning environments that are fully staffed with essential support personnel.
- Strengthening and Protecting Neighborhood Schools — Growing up in CPS and now being a father to a CPS student, Jason’s dedication to improving the student achievement is personal. His nearly 15 years of experience in education and nonprofit leadership uniquely qualify him to serve on Chicago’s first elected School Board. Jason believes we can increase equity in school funding by revising funding formulas to prioritize high-need schools, ensuring that students in every neighborhood receive the necessary resources to thrive.
- Improving Student Achievement — Driven by a commitment to increase equity in academic achievement, Jason aims to create inclusive educational landscapes. He emphasizes the importance of culturally relevant curriculums, restorative justice practices, and mental health support resources, ensuring that all students have the access and support they need to succeed.
Public education is my passion. I am an equitable education policy and pedagogy specialist. I have been a founding member of various equity collaboratives and co-authored Illinois' first culturally responsive teaching standards. I am deeply committed to advancing equity in education and believe CPS must invest in teacher training around culturally responsive practices and trauma-informed care to create an affirming, inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds. This should be a core expectation of what it means to teach well in our district. Beyond that, I am passionate about areas of public policy which elevate our most marginalized working-class families while improving conditions for all starting with ed, housing and labor
The person I look up to the most is my mom. As a single mother in Humboldt Park, she worked tirelessly to ensure I had access to the best possible education, despite the challenges of navigating a system that often failed low-income families. Watching her struggle to get me into a better public school, while juggling the realities of life as a working-class parent, taught me that education should never be a privilege, but a right for every child. It’s why I’m so committed to the fight for fully funded and fully staffed neighborhood schools. No parent should have to leave their home community just to find a good education for their child, and no child should be denied the resources they need to thrive because of what they look like, the language they speak, or the neighborhood they live in. I’m running for elected school board to honor her struggle and to continue the fight for a more just and equitable education system. My mom’s determination, her deep love of people, and her belief in the power of education and community drive me every day. She works hard to provide for those around her and understands that the world is much bigger than our family and needs attention and care. There are many leaders I admire, however today I am drawn to the model my mother first provided for me.
If you're looking to understand my political philosophy, I would highly recommend the book "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire. This book has been foundational in shaping my approach to education and social justice. Freire emphasizes the importance of empowering marginalized communities, challenging the status quo, and fostering critical consciousness in both educators and students. His ideas about dialogue, community engagement, and education as a tool for liberation align closely with my belief in equity and the power of this community-led education movement.
Another essential read is "Root Shock" by Dr. Mindy Fullilove. This book explores how gentrification and displacement have impacted communities of color and the long-lasting effects of uprooting people from their homes, schools, and communities. Root Shock demonstrates the interconnectedness of housing, community stability, and education, and serves as a powerful reminder of the structural forces that can harm communities exactly like those I aim to represent on the Chicago School Board.
Both works emphasize the need for community-led solutions and the importance of equity in policymaking, core values that guide my political philosophy and approach to public service.
The most important characteristics for an elected official are a steadfast commitment to equity, a focus on community accountability, and a vision for systemic change. Elected officials should be responsive to the needs and voices of the people they serve, therefore, community accountability is essential. Jason believes in the power of co-governance and community-led decision-making and is dedicated to ensuring that parents, students, and educators are at the forefront of shaping educational policy. Rather than catering to corporate interests or top-down directives, an official must champion the voices of working-class families.
It’s also critical that elected officials prioritize systemic change. We must not only address symptoms or immediate issues but also work to transform the systems that perpetuate inequality. This includes pushing for structural reforms in Chicago’s education system, from revising funding formulas to prioritize need-based funding, to expanding culturally relevant curricula, to rejecting privatization and divestment. Jason understands that meaningful change requires bold action to reshape the systems that have long failed to serve everyone equally.
I am a rooted, deeply collaborative, people-driven leader. I listen first and stay learning. I have an unwavering commitment to lead alongside the community and I am unbending in my values. I believe my unique combination of lived experience and professional expertise makes me well-suited for a successful role on the Chicago School Board. As a proud Puerto Rican and Humboldt Park native raised by a single mother earning minimum wage, I understand the challenges families face in our community. My journey through Chicago Public Schools (K-12) and my current role as Chair of the Local School Council at Moos Elementary demonstrate my commitment to advocating for local education and addressing systemic inequities.
With over 14 years in education, I have focused on improving conditions for Black and Brown communities, serving as a CPS classroom teacher in those neighborhoods. In my current position as an education nonprofit leader, I manage strategy, finance, culture, and development, advancing my leadership, fiscal management, and policy implementation skills. My work as a founding member of various equity collaboratives and co-author of Illinois' first culturally responsive teaching standards underscores my dedication to equitable education.
My deep roots in District 3 and extensive experience in education positions me to have an immediate impact on the school board. I am committed to being the advocate my district needs, ensuring that every child has access to the high-quality education they deserve.
The core responsibility of a Chicago School Board member is to be accountable to the community, ensuring that the needs and values of students, families, and educators are at the forefront of every decision. A board member must engage directly with the people they represent, listening to their concerns and advocating for policies that reflect their priorities. Jason Dones believes that true accountability comes from community-led decision-making, where parents and educators have a voice in shaping the future of public education.
Another critical responsibility is being a responsible financial steward. Ensuring that schools are funded based on need, rather than just enrollment numbers, is key to promoting equity. Jason is committed to pushing for policies that prioritize underfunded schools in underserved neighborhoods, making sure that resources are allocated where they are most needed to give every student a fair chance to succeed.
Lastly, a board member must focus on advancing student achievement, showcasing the incredible talent and potential of Chicago’s students, educators, and families. Jason believes in implementing and expanding programs and policies that support academic excellence, from culturally relevant curricula to early childhood hood access, to mental health support. His goal is to highlight the strengths of Chicago’s diverse communities and ensure that students have the opportunity to thrive in a supportive, well-resourced environment within walking distance of their homes.
My first job that wasn't working for friends and family was a summer position working at a food distribution warehouse. There I made deliveries across the chicagoland area and learned to drive a forklift! Soon after that, I nurtured a passion for education through tutoring and school support positions and left the forklift behind sadly :)
Cajmere and Dajae's "Brighter Days" - My son got obsessed with it last year and I couldn't be prouder of that
Growing up low-income in Chicago, there was always a struggle on the horizon. Still, I feel I was incredibly privileged and have loved my life. One new challenge is figuring out what kind of father I intend to be to my two boys. I think often about the model I provide as someone who grew-up in a single-parent household. I think often about my responsibility to my sons and how I keep a high bar as a father and as a committed agent for social justice. How I balance my intense responsibility to my community and my home is a challenge I think about often on the campaign trail but I'm happy to report it is one I have handled well thanks to the unwavering support of my wife, my mother, and the community around us.
The best way to co-govern IS to build collaborative, trusting relationships with the community. For this reason, I have run my campaign like I intend to lead. I reject no inquiry from community members. I reach out to an engage with community-based organizations regularly. I make time to listen to students, families, and neighbors about their hopes and needs. I will begin my efforts with those who represent working class families and work to uplift the most marginalized voices. I will include all who have a stake in the strength of our schools (which is basically everyone who wants to live in a great city) and for the purpose of school board, I will tour schools, interact with educators and policymakers, and stay in constant communication with students, families, and the advocacy groups which represent them.
Good teaching best meets the needs of each individual learner and prioritizes student access, ability, and agency in a dynamic world. Good teaching provides access and agency. It uses a variety of tools to put students in the best position to succeed and topple any barriers to their achievement in life. There is a lot of good curriculum, data-tools, differentiation methods, and more which make up this ecosystem. With curriculum and pedagogy, I often highlight the need for more knowledge-construction and relevance in schools. With good teaching, you often see students engaged because the content feels relevant to who they are and what they need to understand about the world around them. Think about your favorite teacher or most memorable day in school. Typically these memories are characterized by a teacher who believes in your potential, challenges you to do more than recite facts for a test, seeks to understand who you are and builds a safe and generative learning environment. I can observe this in any grade level across a wide variety of subjects. There are many models of good teaching but if you do not hit these criteria, chances are there is more for you to achieve. Attendance, grades and test scores are imperfect but useful ever-present measures which also need to be reinforced by student surveys, parent input, and observable changes in access and agency for young people–particularly our traditionally marginalized students. Can we definitively observe more access to college and career opportunities?Are students describing an affirming experience they will remember later in life? Smarter researchers and me have begun to center a wide-variety of ‘good teaching metrics’ and I hope to use the best of all we have available to continue to refine what we mean when we say ‘high-quality education’ in our country.
Research shows that students and families are begging for more innovative programming; and it has to be programming grounded in providing access and agency. Technical training and trade apprenticeships are good examples of programs we used to downplay but are becoming more and more popular in the education ecosystem. This is because we are diversifying access to opportunity, and I want to see that continue. I would expand programming in general so that it stays grounded in community and relevant to the hopes and dreams of our students in a changing world. STEM is a great example of a business and social impact space that evolves faster than our education system and we are leaving our students behind. Without an eye on relevance or innovation, we'll miss the chance to develop future scientists and world-leaders.
I have received endorsements from a diverse and influential group. This includes the Northwest Side of Progressive electeds — Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, State Senator Omar Aquino, State Representatives Will Guzzardi and Lilian Jimenez, Alderpeople Carlos Ramirez Rosa, Jessie Fuentes, Rossana Rodriguez, Daniel La Spata, and Ruth Cruz, and County Commissioner Anthony Joel Quezada. Additionally, I am endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor, the "Girl, I Guess Progressive Voter Guide," United Neighbors 35, the Chicago Teachers Union, 33rd Working Families, United Neighbors of the 26th, United Working Families, NDFA, Local 1 SEIU, SEIU73, Sunrise Chicago, Citizen Action IL, CCCTU, and Mid-American Carpenters.
Co-governance and responsibility to the public is at the core of why an elected board matters. I want the board to do the ‘little things’ right which raise the bar for financial transparency and accountability. Ensuring meetings are well-publicized and provide a consistent experience for the public. Creating regular updates and feedback measures and making sure documentation and evidence is available to the public well in advance. I believe the government should prioritize stakeholder engagement. With the school board for example, how often are we connecting with parents and do we seek out the most marginalized voices? Are we grounded in the stories and requests from our students? Are we regularly engaging with connected organizations and groups who are invested in the strength of our schools? There is a collection of beliefs and practices we should model which give the power back to the people. By taking these steps, we can build trust with the community and ensure that the school board operates with transparency and integrity. Financial transparency is also a must: we must showcase a thorough and unbiased assessment of CPS's financial practices and resource allocations, which is essential for identifying inefficiencies and ensuring funds are directed to the most impactful areas, such as special education, mental health services, and ensuring our schools are fully staffed and equipped. This is about making sure every dollar is spent with the intention of uplifting our children and not lost to bureaucratic inefficiencies or misplaced priorities. This can only strengthen our advocacy for more equitable funding and resource distribution, aligning with our commitment to fostering a more just and equitable education system for every student, regardless of their zip code
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Chicago Public Schools school board District 3b |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024
