The percentage of students of color participating in ETHS extracurriculars like sports, fine arts and clubs dropped between 2023 and 2024, according to a report presented to the District 202 Board of Education on April 7.
Participation in these kinds of activities has been linked in research to success in school, and ETHS is no different. Those involved in extracurriculars held, on average, a GPA of 3.82 in 2024, up from a 3.74 average in 2023. Conversely, those not involved in extracurriculars in 2024 posted an average GPA of 2.67.
“Kids, when they participate in these different groups, have an identity. I think they have a deeper purpose for being. I think they have a connection with a positive adult role model and a peer group that’s going to hold them accountable,” ETHS Athletic Director Chris Livatino said. “I think that all adds up to achievement in the classroom.”
A higher GPA is not unique to any particular demographic group, either. According to the report, every demographic group sees a higher average GPA when paired with extracurricular involvement.
Although the average GPA differs between demographic groups, all groups involved in extracurriculars had a GPA of at least 3.24.
Demographic changes
Involvement in extracurriculars by students who identify as Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, or two or more racial groups dropped between the 2023 and 2024 school years, though all demographic groups still see higher involvement than in 2022.
White student participation, conversely, continued to increase.
The story on participation shifts slightly when talking about students’ community service. Almost all demographic groups saw increases in involvement from the year prior, according to community service coordinator Erin Claeys.
Disparities between demographic groups, however, still exist.
Addressing disparities in extracurriculars
Staff at ETHS continue to work on access and involvement in extracurriculars — whether athletics, fine arts, other activities or community service — for all students,
“We’re excited to see how we can make community service continue to be something that’s accessible to all students,” Claeys said. “That’s through making sure that we’re doing it here on campus, finding service that’s related and reflects all students,” and finding “community organizations that are addressing a wide array of issues that all students can feel connected to.”
Livatino also spoke to how the school is working to address both disparities and drops in involvement between demographic groups. Livatino and the board are trying to get students involved in sports and activities before they actually reach ETHS.
The school has worked with children before they hit high school through organizations like Girls Play Sports and Kuumba Evanston. Both groups are designed to give younger students who historically are less involved in sports, including girls and all students of color, more experience in athletics.
This year, Kuumba’s summer olympic games program expanded to include seventh-graders, adding one more grade level to the program already serving fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders.
“The olympic games are really to break down all the systemic barriers that I feel like we’ve talked at so many of these different meetings that have prohibited and kept many of our students of color or loan kids from low-income families from participating in sports,” Livatino said.
Board President Pat Savage-Williams described how important this early exposure is, because kids “need to start a little bit earlier than when they come here.”
“It’s really helpful for a lot of kids to know what the options are and get a little bit of experience,” Savage-Williams said.
Livatino also told the board about surveys and focus groups that the athletics department has been conducting to better understand the student-athlete experience.
These surveys have “nothing to do with winning,” Livatino said. “It has to do with everything, with the social -emotional learning.”
Percentage of students of color in extracurriculars drops at ETHS, report says is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.