About Town

Evanston Needs More Shopping Choices For Kids

Columnist Christine Wolf hopes to see more businesses with a focus on Evanston's youngest consumers.

There’s money to be made in Evanston for anyone willing to offer options for kids. Having raised all three of my children here from birth – they’re now 15, 13 and 9 – I guarantee there’s a need for kid-friendly options, particularly for kids’ apparel and indoor activities. According to GreatSchools.org, the greater Evanston, Illinois, area sees kids enrolled in 29 Preschools, 18 Elementary Schools, 11 Middle Schools and 3 High School programs.  Take a look at this list of Evanston-area schools, followed by the kid-friendly private-sector clothing and activity offerings -- then tell me there isn’t room for improvement. Even if we exclude most preschool programs, we STILL have a tremendous population of kids (and their families) searching …

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District 65 Hosts New School Year Mixers For Families

Mark your calendar for meet and greets if your children will be attending Dr. Bessie Rhodes, King Lab, Walker, Lincoln, Lincolnwood Oakton, Dewey, Washington, Willard or Kingsley schools this fall.

As the first day of school inches closer in Evanston, District 65 schools are offering meet and greets for parents and students. Several are scheduled this weekend or early next week, including some events just for families of incoming kindergarteners. Here's a list of upcoming mixers, provided by District 65: Do you have an incoming student who will attend DR. BESSIE RHODES MAGNET SCHOOL this fall?  If so, you are invited to the welcoming meet and greet for children and parents hosted by the Rhodes PTA Monday, August 27 from 5-6:30 pm at 3701 Davis Street.  This event is a great way to meet fellow parents and students. Parents from other grades will be on hand as well.  Drinks and snacks will be provided.  Please note there are no rain …

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Parents Fight Arts Cuts in D. 65

As part of a plan to reduce the budget following a failed referendum in March, District 65 has proposed to cut some full-time arts teachers and share more arts teachers among schools. Parents say those cuts would hit low income schools hardest.

A plan to reduce the number of arts teachers in District 65 and share them among schools as a way of saving money doesn’t sit well with some parents, who say that robust arts programming is critical to their kids’ success. At a meeting of the finance committee Monday night, both parents and members of the board asked the administration to  take a second look at proposed cuts. Oakton School mom Geri Smith was among several parents who attended the meeting to protest the district’s plan.  “When you have itinerant teachers, the programs are just not as strong,” Smith told Patch. Want the latest school news from Patch? Sign up for our free newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox every morning. As part of its plan to balance the 2012-13 …

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About Town

Bullets & Big Macs

We're SO not lovin' it.

Last Friday afternoon, driving my kids to countless errands around town, I felt the dreaded "3:30 p.m. drag."  If you’re an adult, you know the feeling all too well.  I knew a cold, caffeinated drink would wake me up.  I aimed my car toward the McDonald's drive-thru on Dempster, but traffic was annoyingly backed up.  Flashing emergency lights near the corner of Dodge and Dempster indicated some sort of situation.  As my daughter and I neared the intersection, it was apparent that my icy Diet Coke wouldn’t come from McDonald’s: yellow tape was wrapped around the parking lot; police cars and unmarked vehicles blocked every entrance and exit; a helicopter hovered above the snarled traffic.  As the gaping traffic crawled past McDonald’s, we …

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Christine Wolf

8:59 am on Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sheila, Thank you for sharing your experience with the greater community. While I'm glad you and your children were unharmed physically, it's clear you've all been emotionally wounded by the events that day.   more ›