The number of English language “newcomers” to Evanston/Skokie School District 65 has increased dramatically since 2021.
From a low of 18 newcomers, students newly arrived in the U.S., in the 2019-20 school year, the count soared to 106 in 2022-23.
And so far this year, with four months to go in the academic calendar, 63 newcomers are now D65 students.
And that’s happening while District 65’s overall enrollment has been shrinking, down now to 6,388.
While not all of the “newcomers” are necessarily low income, fleeing Venezuela, or even homeless, it was mentioned in the meeting that many are eligible for services under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which mandates certain programs for students who do not have a fixed home address.
The number of homeless students in D65 has been increasing along with the jump in “newcomers.”
The growing number of English Language Learners comes at the same time as the ongoing debate over the future of the Bessie Rhodes K-8 magnet program, with its two way immersion English/Spanish curriculum.
Currently, TWI is only offered through 5th grade, at Rhodes, Dawes, Dewey, Oakton, Washington, and Willard. The plan is to add TWI to 6th grade at Rhodes in 2024-25, and long-term, have it in all three district middle schools, grades 6-8, on a timeline to be determined.
The lengthy presentation about what is required by the state along with what District 65 currently offers and plans to offer demonstrated that laws and policies about ELLs are close to baffling in any language.
But with the number of non-native-English-speakers growing each year, how to provide what’s mandated by law, and also whether D65 wants to do more, are key questions.
Interim Superintendent Angel Turner said, “There are so many opinions, and everybody wants to say what it is, but at the end of the day we follow the laws and guidelines.”
To help explain those laws and guidelines, the district plans to call parents/guardians of current 5th grade TWI students to gauge interest in 6th grade TWI.
Board member Soo La Kim said, “I appreciate the outreach to 5th grade families with phone calls. We over-rely on texts and emails.”
There will be a TWI Family Night at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at Willard Elementary, to answer potential questions in person.
The report also noted that TWX students, native Spanish speakers who have achieved English proficiency, are outperforming their general education peers on a college readiness test of literacy.