Proposed School Would Provide Blank Slate for '21st Century' Learning

In the almost half century since District 65 last built an elementary school, the methods and mediums of education have changed dramatically.

If voters approve the proposed new 5th Ward school, the district will have a blank slate to create a modern school from scratch.

A referendum on the upcoming March 20 ballot will ask Evanstonians to approve the district’s proposed $48.2 million bond offering that would finance the new K-5 school, as well as fund additions and renovations to other district school buildings.

Pat Markham, director of communications for District 65, said that the district’s recently-released architectural renderings of the proposed school showcased viable ways to make the new building both environmentally friendly and a “21st century school."

New features

Larger classrooms throughout is one notable proposed feature.

“Most instructional environments no longer are set up with rows of desks,” Markham said. “Classrooms are designed in zones, if you will, so some of the features might include a little larger space, in terms of square footage of a classroom. These classrooms will not be 600 square feet. We’re talking about kindergarten classrooms that are 1,200 square feet. Elementary classrooms with 900 square feet.”

Other components of the preliminary building designs include:

* taller windows to increase natural light
* a focus on preserving the lot’s existing green spaces
* a “green roof” to control rainwater runoff and act as a student garden.

Though not visible in the renderings, the building itself was designed to have 18 classrooms, a library media center, an art studio, a music studio, one or several STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studios, an auditorium, a gymnasium, boys and girls locker rooms, a cafeteria and administrative offices.

“If we’re building a new building and we know we’re going to be offering these kinds of things, we want to make sure that the space we construct can accommodate these specialized learning studios,” Markham said.

Some district administrators have envisioned the new building as a combination school and community center, Markham continued, with gym and library access granted to all Evanston residents during after-school hours.

Early in the process

But the preliminary plans are far from written in stone. Even if the referendum passes, Markham said the district would hold a community envisioning process, when architects, administrators, teachers and Evanston residents would gather to discuss conceptions for the new school.

“It’s just a shell at this point,” said Eduard Blanc, a designer and senior associate at TMP Architecture, the Michigan-based architectural firm hired to create the school renderings.

The current design does not even incorporate a set number of bathrooms, he explained, and there were many other important building features and functions left to be determined until at a future date.

The proposed 5th Ward school would likely sit on the southwest corner of the intersection of Simpson Street and Ashland Avenue, on the same block as the .

District 65’s last construction project was the , 1500 McDaniel Ave., which was built in 2002. During an 18-year span beginning in 1949, the district built nine school buildings, capping the boom off in 1967 with .

Official language

The March 20 referendum reads: “Shall the Board of Education of Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated School District Number 65, Cook County, Illinois, build and equip a school building, build and equip additions to existing school buildings, and improve the sites of and alter, repair and equip existing school buildings and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $48,200,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”

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