District leaders and board members used Monday’s Committee of the Whole to update trustees and community listeners on planning for the new Foster School, including curriculum strands, outreach and a schedule of community forums.

Principal Raquel and district staff said they have begun outreach with neighborhood stakeholders, alumni and community groups and will hold a first Foster Forum on Sept. 24; the district also created an online intent‑to‑enroll form to capture likely families. Leaders said they plan to build “founding Foster families” to shape mission and traditions and to invite alumni to preserve historic neighborhood contributions.

Community speakers and some trustees pressed the district to incorporate African‑centered curricular strands (ACC) or culturally rooted program elements for Foster given the neighborhood demographics and historical interest in culturally responsive programs. Principal Raquel, who previously taught in equivalent programs, described designing staff hiring, interview processes and professional learning so teachers can deliver culturally sustaining instruction to a diverse class of students. Trustees and staff emphasized that any curricular strand should affirm all students and that the district will not transplant an existing program wholesale but will design programming that reflects community preferences and operational constraints.

Several community members and board members urged the district to include bilingual programming and make deliberate outreach to Latino families. Staff emphasized flexible scheduling for meetings, offering childcare and Spanish‑language outreach, and leveraging local organizations (Evanston Cradle to Career, community advocates) for door‑to‑door outreach. District staff said they met recently with community representatives invited by Henry Wilkins and would consider forming a task force of community representatives to help plan Foster’s offerings.

Board members asked for regular reporting and transparency: the facilities and transition work for Foster will be reported monthly to the Committee of the Whole; staff said they will bridge Foster planning with SAP (site and academic planning) groups and bring updates to the board.

Why it matters: Foster School is a high‑profile transition (Bessie Rhodes closure and Foster opening) that will shape neighborhood programming and enrollment, and trustees said the district must balance swift planning with meaningful, representative community engagement.

What’s next: Foster forums in late September and October, an online intent‑to‑enroll collection, principal‑led outreach and a commitment from staff to include community stakeholders and alumni in planning.