EVANSTON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board voted Monday night to close its only fully bilingual elementary school. It came over the objections of parents and community members.
Before the vote to close the Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies in Skokie, residents of the district like Susan Barrett-Kelly made impassioned requests to hold off on the decision and conduct an equity study.
“I ask you: Please, please make sure, I believe we are probably going to have to close schools, but it is just not clear we are closing the right one,” Barrett-Kelly urged the board.
Supporters like Lionel Gentle told the board that studies have shown most students do not move to higher-performing schools.
“The closure of schools has been shown to inflict measurable harm to the academic well-being of students,” Gentle said.
The district has cited costs and student enrollment as reasons behind the difficult move as it prepares to open a new school in Evanston’s 5th Ward.
The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights asked the board last week to reconsider, saying the move by CPS to close 50 schools a decade ago did not bring with it the promised savings.
The earliest Rhodes would close is after the 2025-26 school year.
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