Parents, union and board spar over proposed consolidation of Willard and Bessie Rhodes two‑way immersion strands at Foster

Dozens of parents, teachers and union leaders urged the Evanston District 65 board on Dec. 15 to preserve neighborhood bilingual offerings and oppose administrative consolidation plans that would move Willard and Bessie Rhodes two‑way immersion (TWI/TWE) strands into Foster School.

Kelly Post, president of the District Education Council, told the board: "Paraprofessionals are essential to the daily success of our schools" and urged support for a contract and living wages for paraprofessionals, tying workforce stability to educational quality. Cynthia Battle, president of the Evanston Teacher Assistants Association, added: "I am standing here tonight on behalf of every paraprofessional who serves..." and said paraprofessionals continue to work without a contract.

Many parents focused on program placement. Meg Durer (parent and attorney) raised a procedural point: "The Illinois code and the school policy makes it clear that magnet programs are a board decision," and asked the board to assert oversight. Administration responded by citing board policies (6:10 and 6:160) that, in this context, delegate implementation of instructional programs and program placement to the superintendent, noting legal counsel had advised the administration on delegation for two‑way immersion program placement.

Stacy Beardsley (assistant superintendent) summarized the recommendation to shift the district to seven TWI strands and to consolidate the Willard and Bessie Rhodes strands into two strands at Foster, citing utilization metrics (district‑wide utilization roughly 68% with average class size 16) and program fidelity concerns with single‑strand schools. Beardsley said consolidating aims to "build a larger and more dynamic classroom community" and to increase walkability and administrative capacity.

Parents described impacts they fear from relocating strands: loss of neighborhood access, disruption for students with IEPs, and weakening of community ties. A parent asked the board: "If the eighth strand is erased, how does this affect the seat capacity for the dual language program at Haven?" Administration responded that families would receive school placement notices in early February and be able to request permissive transfers by March 1; the district said it would not provide transportation for families who opt to stay at their existing school under the permissive transfer exception.

Administration outlined a communication and transition plan that includes notifying Willard staff and families first, age‑appropriate student communications, sharing circles and mental‑health supports beginning the week after the meeting, and a registration opening targeted for Jan. 20. The multilingual team described a target composition range for immersion classrooms: while kindergarten enrollment aims for 50/50 native English/Spanish balance, staff said an acceptable range up to 67/33 has been used operationally to manage enrollment across grades.

Board members pressed for careful outreach to Willard families and for return data about where families commit to send students; administration committed to reporting permissive transfer results and enrollment figures in mid‑March. Several board members emphasized the need to "humanize" the transition and to convene restorative conversations; one member asked administration to bring numbers back in February or March so members would know what the district is designing for.

The administration characterized the recommendation as consolidation and program building rather than a message of closure, saying it aims to create classroom environments that meet TWI guidelines and sustain program fidelity over time.

Next procedural steps noted in the meeting: staff will notify all families in early February of tentative placements, open registration Jan. 20, accept permissive transfers through March 1, and return counts to the board in mid‑March so the board and administration can finalize sectioning and staffing decisions.