This comment is really interesting. I'm new to reading this substack and am curious as to how long its readers/commenters have been paying attention to the D65 school board. 5-ish years ago and for years prior, the board had plenty of people who did not work in the field of education. They were sensible and smart people with various type…
This comment is really interesting. I'm new to reading this substack and am curious as to how long its readers/commenters have been paying attention to the D65 school board. 5-ish years ago and for years prior, the board had plenty of people who did not work in the field of education. They were sensible and smart people with various types of occupations, well intentioned liberals who said all the right things about valuing equity. But they didn't do anything to make a real difference like push the 5th ward school forward or redraw attendance boundaries to balance enrollment (a few schools that were getting too crowded had additions built - which at this point seems like a gigantic waste of money). They did not have success in refocusing the district's energy and resources to make a difference in the opportunity gap (but they did have success using energy/resources to revamp the math acceleration program, which I am aware some people are outraged has now been discontinued).
I've been watching the school board for a long time, way before the current folks were elected. The individuals named in the above comment would seem to me to represent a return to D65 board circa 2011-2016. They are obviously smart and caring people, but their viewpoints are not new. The current board's priorities represent something different and I am hopeful that their efforts will produce results over time. A decades-old problem was never going to be solved in three years. I'm not saying the current board or any individual is perfect. I'm not even saying they've done everything properly because I don't really know. But I do know that change is hard, and this board has been willing to take (political) risks that prior boards were not. I want the board to be successful because I want our kids to be successful. I want Evanston to become a community that is actually equitable. Not one where a candidate for school board says things like "equity and excellence can coexist." I am certain this was not intended to be insulting. And that's the point. People who sit on our school board need a baseline of understanding about the ways systemic oppression is upheld by well intentioned people, and be willing to disrupt them. From what I can tell so far, only one of the non-incumbents gets it. It's not about coexisting - excellence does not exist without equity.
On a separate note, I am glad to have come across this substack. It is refreshing to see that there's someone willing to ask questions and look for accountability who is also not willing to allow people to indiscriminately trash D65 for every single thing (unlike other Evanston blogs and the shadow group who puts out "Evanston Schools Update").
Appreciate and agree with your points. Many things can be true at once. Again, a big reason why I am glad I found your site. Only thing I might differ on is that if someone is putting out a publication saying it contains facts, they should put their name on it. Random citizens giving an opinion without a name is not as big of a deal imo, but maybe I'll rethink it. This is the first time I have commented anywhere. Hoping we get a huge turnout for this election, regardless of who wins. Thanks for all your work and info!
This comment is really interesting. I'm new to reading this substack and am curious as to how long its readers/commenters have been paying attention to the D65 school board. 5-ish years ago and for years prior, the board had plenty of people who did not work in the field of education. They were sensible and smart people with various types of occupations, well intentioned liberals who said all the right things about valuing equity. But they didn't do anything to make a real difference like push the 5th ward school forward or redraw attendance boundaries to balance enrollment (a few schools that were getting too crowded had additions built - which at this point seems like a gigantic waste of money). They did not have success in refocusing the district's energy and resources to make a difference in the opportunity gap (but they did have success using energy/resources to revamp the math acceleration program, which I am aware some people are outraged has now been discontinued).
I've been watching the school board for a long time, way before the current folks were elected. The individuals named in the above comment would seem to me to represent a return to D65 board circa 2011-2016. They are obviously smart and caring people, but their viewpoints are not new. The current board's priorities represent something different and I am hopeful that their efforts will produce results over time. A decades-old problem was never going to be solved in three years. I'm not saying the current board or any individual is perfect. I'm not even saying they've done everything properly because I don't really know. But I do know that change is hard, and this board has been willing to take (political) risks that prior boards were not. I want the board to be successful because I want our kids to be successful. I want Evanston to become a community that is actually equitable. Not one where a candidate for school board says things like "equity and excellence can coexist." I am certain this was not intended to be insulting. And that's the point. People who sit on our school board need a baseline of understanding about the ways systemic oppression is upheld by well intentioned people, and be willing to disrupt them. From what I can tell so far, only one of the non-incumbents gets it. It's not about coexisting - excellence does not exist without equity.
On a separate note, I am glad to have come across this substack. It is refreshing to see that there's someone willing to ask questions and look for accountability who is also not willing to allow people to indiscriminately trash D65 for every single thing (unlike other Evanston blogs and the shadow group who puts out "Evanston Schools Update").
I think it is possible to hold all the thoughts in your head at once:
- D65 is doing good things (my son is in the district for a reason!)
- D65 is doing bad things (and possibly some very bad things, like corruption)
- Reasonable people can and should disagree on matters of policy
- We need to turn the heat down on our discourse and move back to a place where people can feel comfortable using their real names again
- Our electoral system is legitimate
- Elections have consequences
- The ideal way to remove people you don't like in power is via elections
- Voters need good information to make decisions and transparency is vital to this
Appreciate and agree with your points. Many things can be true at once. Again, a big reason why I am glad I found your site. Only thing I might differ on is that if someone is putting out a publication saying it contains facts, they should put their name on it. Random citizens giving an opinion without a name is not as big of a deal imo, but maybe I'll rethink it. This is the first time I have commented anywhere. Hoping we get a huge turnout for this election, regardless of who wins. Thanks for all your work and info!