Let's face it -- it ain't easy to be a kid these days, much less a young adult, facing challenges that are truly rattling the rest of us. How are we in Evanston preparing and engaging our youth so they can become effective members of our community? Maybe more to the point, what are we, as a community, willing to do to insure that all of our children succeed?

For years Evanston Township High School has doggedly attempted to raise the performance of all students and close the minority achievement gap, with minimal results. Now ETHS has embraced a new model, de-tracking many of the humanities classes, and creating mixed-level honors classes, designed to increase the rigor and academic achievement among lower-achieving students. This move has brought to the surface some very tough questions: What effect do race and privilege have on student achievement? Are our teachers effectively differentiating their instruction to meet the needs of all students? Here in Evanston, our school districts face the same challenges that any diverse, urban community's schools face. If these challenges cannot be resolved with the resources, intellectual capital, and strong commitment present in our community, how will they ever be addressed in communities nation-wide?

On January 24th, our community ensemble made up of youth services providers, parents, teachers, students from ETHS, and Evanston born playwright Marsha Estell will start questioning and listening to each other. We'll talk it out and argue it out. We might even hug it out. In March, we'll take a break while Marsha writes a play in response to our conversations, and then in April we'll come back to rehearse what she's created. We'll keep you posted, and hope you'll add your voices to our conversation at the Next Communities performances May 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Labels: Evanston, Next Communities