Current Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board vice president and school board candidate Elisabeth “Biz” Lindsay-Ryan began her term in 2019 as the district unveiled its first LGBTQ+ Equity Week. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, inclusivity is an issue close to Lindsay-Ryan’s heart, and she said the week was an important step toward progress and inclusion.
The creation of the Equity Week first came after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a 2019 bill mandating the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history into all public schools by 2020. Now, two years later, the district is creating an LGBTQ+-inclusive Social Studies curriculum.
The curriculum involves nine equity components informed by the Illinois State Board of Education’s Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, and is slated to be released in June. To many, the curriculum may indicate progress but even the implementation of an LGBTQ+ Equity Week received some criticism.
Here’s who’s running for D65, D202 school boards this April
January 18, 2021
Eight candidates have filed petitions to run for four seats on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board in the upcoming municipal election. In District 202, only three incumbents have filed petitions, while the fourth seat remains open.
The filing period for board elections, Dec. 14 to Dec. 21, has passed, and the election will be held April 6. Below is a list of all confirmed candidates.
DISTRICT 65
Angela Blaising: Blaising is the vice president of capital markets at Hyatt Hotels Corporation and a mother of two D65 middle schoolers. In an interview with the Democratic Party of Evanston, she said her background in finance would help her balance the district’s budget and strategies for safely reopening schools immediately. Blaising emphasized that she believes in safely reopening schools, and that doing so is the equitable choice for supporting Black and brown students, who have been dispropor