Find out more about Kelly by watching clips from her interviews below with the 22 members of the 109 Caucus.

Kelly Jakymiw is a parent of four who has lived in Deerfield for 13 years, with extensive experience teaching special education and serving the 109 community and its schools. All four of her children are either in, or have gone, through District 109 (D109) schools: Callen is a Shepard seventh grader, and her twins, Camden and Claire, are Walden second graders. Charlie, her oldest, is now in his first year at Deerfield High School.

As a first-time board member, she would bring fresh insights in what it means to stand on either side of the desk—on one side as a teacher, and on the other, as a D109 parent and volunteer. She says her fundamental aim is to “bring our community together in the effort to provide the best educational practices and highest educational achievement for all our learners.”

A Call for Respectful Discourse and Community-Led Solutions

“I believe that our school board can be a place of respectful discourse between each other and parents, staff, and administrators,” Kelly says. “I believe that we are blessed with educated, engaged, talented parents, staff, and students that need to be an integral part of developing solutions to our district’s needs.”

She also believes in fostering accountable district programming with data-driven decision making, ensuring successful transitions between the grades and between middle school and high school, and creating a post-pandemic district vision to address the curricular, social-emotional, and executive functioning needs of all D109 learners and staff.

Education, Teaching, and Volunteer Experience

The valedictorian of Cary-Grove High School in 1999, she went on to study at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Education. In 2002, she graduated with her B.S. in special education and was selected to give the college’s commencement speech. After graduating, she went to work for the Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED), of which D109 is a member, as a special education teacher and consultant for eight years. She also taught at Ravinia Elementary in Highland Park and Wilmot as part of the NSSED.

Kelly brings a deep understanding of the critical role that parents play in the district. In addition to attending and speaking at school board meetings over the past six years, she has served on several D109 committees that discussed standards-based grading, math tracking, TAP and world languages, and the middle school model, among others. She has been an active member of the Walden PTO over the last 10 years, serving as PTO co-president/president emeritus, treasurer, and the chair of several committees. Kelly is also the treasurer of the nonprofit, Deerfield-based Pegasus FC travel soccer club and has served as a board member for the past three years.

To learn more about Kelly, please visit her website at Kelly Jakymiw | D109 Board of Education
and follow her on Facebook at Kelly for 109.