After a three-week saga that began with a surprise email on Oct. 16 and continued with protests, apologies and meetings, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 announced Friday morning that it will keep seventh and eighth grades open through at least the end of this school year at the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies.
The stated motivation for closing those grades in the first place was a shortage of educators at Bessie Rhodes licensed to teach core subjects. The district will fill in those gaps moving forward by having central office department heads teach seventh and eighth grade classes, according to Superintendent Angel Turner.
“This plan will be implemented for the duration of the 2024-2025 school year,” Turner wrote in an email to families on Friday. “We will continue to assess monolingual 7th and 8th grade staffing and student numbers throughout the year. We are committed to collaborating and communicating in advance if any changes are needed before the end of the school year and for next year.”
But only about half the students currently in those grades will be staying at Rhodes come Nov. 18, the first day of the winter trimester, Turner said. The district gave each family the option of requesting a transfer to a neighborhood middle school or the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary & Fine Arts School. After the district followed up with families this week, 20 students decided to stay at Bessie Rhodes, 14 are going to King Arts and seven will switch to a neighborhood school, Turner announced.
For the transferring students, their last day at Bessie Rhodes will be Friday, Nov. 15.
“A one-size-fits-all approach does not fit the needs of all families, and we are working individually to make sure all students’ needs are met,” Turner wrote.
Families have until Monday, Nov. 11 to change their decision. They can contact Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Leadership Katie Speth or Chief of Academics and Schools Management Charmekia McCoy with additional questions or concerns before then.
Those students who do switch schools later this month will have a “shadow day” at their new school this coming Tuesday, Nov. 12, and they’ll also be connected with a student buddy at their new school, according to Turner.
“I want to sincerely thank you for your collaboration, patience and grace as we have navigated this difficult decision,” she said in her email. “Taking additional time to come to a decision allowed us to learn from our mistakes, hear from a wide group of stakeholders, and calibrate on the best path for our 7th/8th grade monolingual students.”
District 65 will keep 7th and 8th grades open at Bessie Rhodes is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.