Community leaders discussed the movement to open a community school in Evanston’s 5th Ward during a virtual panel hosted by Evanston Public Library Thursday.
The ward has gone without a neighborhood school since the Foster School officially closed in 1979 when Evanston/Skokie School District 65 sold the building due to its desegregation plan. Currently, the ward’s nearly 700 students are assigned to five District 65 schools.
Six Evanston Township High School students from Emerge, a leadership and community development program, moderated the event the second in a two part series about the legacy of school segregation in Evanston.
Henry Wilkins started STEM School Evanston, a group advocating for the construction of a public school in the 5th Ward where children excel in STEM principles and work with the community. He said he hopes to see high family involvement with the school.
Organizers from the group Talking Whiteness
, which holds conversations about Whiteness and racism
, facilitated the event, which is the first in a two-part series. Another session will take place May 20 and will be moderated by Evanston Township High School students.
Talking Whiteness member Blaire Frett graduated ETHS in 2012 and grew up in Evanston’s 6th Ward. During the 2012 referendum vote to build a school in the 5th Ward, Frett noticed the pattern of northern Evanston’s two predominately White wards voting against its construction. When the group began their work facilitating discussions on anti-racism last year, Frett said questions around the referendum votes guided their efforts.