The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education heard from district stakeholders about issues at three of its schools Monday night.
The board also unanimously approved Superintendent Angel Turner’s recommendation for the inaugural Foster School principal.
Here’s what to know from Monday’s meeting.
Board approves first-ever Foster School principal
The board unanimously voted for current Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies principal, Charlise Berkel, as the Foster School’s inaugural principal.
Berkel started in the district as an instructional coach at Oakton Elementary School and was appointed principal of Bessie Rhodes in January 2024. She will serve as the principal of both schools as Bessie Rhodes enters its final school year next year and the Foster School prepares to open for the 2026-27 school year.
Community members advocate for school-specific issues during public comment
Bessie Rhodes parents attended public comment to call on the district to guarantee that students’ learning would not be disrupted in the school’s last year.
This comes after the administration announced that seventh and eighth grade classrooms would be closed in November due to staffing shortages. After protesting these closures, families were later given various options for the rest of the school year, including to stay at Bessie Rhodes.
“We are still here,” parent Ashley Jackson said. “Our kids are still going to school. Our children deserve the same quality education as everyone else.”
Several members of the public also advocated for the African Centered Curriculum, which centers on the identity and culture of people of African descent, to be part of Foster School programming. Currently, the Foster School is slated only to have Two-Way Immersion strands along with its general education strands, and ACC is only offered at Oakton.
Many commenters said since the Foster School is an effort to bring a neighborhood school back to the historically Black community in the 5th Ward, it should have a curriculum representative of the community it serves.
“Black students do not see themselves in their curriculum,” said Terri Shepard, one of the ACC program’s founders. “You cannot be what you cannot see.”
District 65 Educators’ Council statement contrasts Haven Middle School presentation
Haven Middle School administrators presented the school’s staffing model, based on student-centered cohorts.
Principal Christopher Latting also said that since the 2021-22 school year, students meeting or exceeding the Illinois Assessment of Readiness grade level benchmark has increased 12.8% for math and 30.4% for English Language Arts. He added that teachers are assigned to content areas that they have certifications in.
Following the presentation, District 65 Educators’ Council President Trisha Baker said that next year, 38% of Haven teachers are slated to teach subjects they don’t have certification in — the only District 65 middle school in which this change is happening. Baker added that many teachers are also teaching grade levels they haven’t taught before.
Haven parent Tara Colville read a statement on behalf of Haven teachers that said there are enough teachers with the proper certifications that no teacher needs to be placed in a new subject or grade level. The statement also said there has been no concept of a curriculum training plan presented to affected teachers.
“Educators are being treated as cogs in a machine being moved around year after year, from grade to grade, subject to subject,” Baker said.
Board hears Structural Deficit Reduction Plan updates
District consultant Susan Harkin said the high level relationship between the work of the SDRP Phase 3 subcommittees — Finances, Facilities and Student Programming — will be presented to the board at its June 23 meeting. Each committee is evaluating its domain for efficiency and role in the district’s overall programming.
Board members also discussed how they can be involved in Phase 3 and the subcommittees’ work. Harkin said the board can attend subcommittee meetings provided that they don’t violate the Open Meetings Act, which states that a meeting for a seven member board occurs when three members are present.
She added that the board should also establish a protocol for how they will engage in the meetings.
Board President Sergio Hernandez emphasized that throughout the SDRP process, it is important to create an ideal environment for all students.
“We’re working for all students, for a whole system, and what is it that we can do to really uplift the work that’s been going on in planning all of this to create a sustainable and high quality educational system?” Hernandez said.
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