Bessie Rhodes Parents to Protest; District Reconsiders Early Closure

And an update on the Grossi Memo (coming soon?)

I’ve been incredibly busy with work this week but here’s a few quick updates.

First, tangentially related to Bessie Rhodes - I’ve FOIA’ed a copy of the Grossi memo that was discussed in the Board meeting last week. The District requested an extension to October 30th, so I should have the memos by then. I don’t see any reason why they need an extension to release a document which contains no FOIA exemptions¹ so I emailed the Board to demand they make it public. I’ve received no reply.

---

The Bessie Rhodes parents are having a protest at the Board Meeting on Monday. The details are in that link or see the image below;

Meanwhile, the District seems to have reversed some of the actions regarding ending 7th and 8th grade - they sent an email to parents you can read below or on the Evanston Roundtable story.

Supporting 7th & 8th Grade Students 

Dear 7th and 8th Grade Parents and Caregivers -

I am writing to you today with an update on the transition planned for 7th and 8th grade students (within our monolingual program) to return to their neighborhood schools at the end of the first trimester.

I want to first acknowledge our missteps in the rollout and announcement of this news. Moving schools midyear is no small decision and has an undeniable impact on students and our staff. As superintendent, I hold myself and my team accountable. I am deeply sorry for the pain and disruption that has been caused. 

We recognize the additional harm to a community that has already been through so much. This was certainly not our intention but an unintended outcome of moving too fast. Our goal was to give families and staff as much notice as possible to prepare for the transition; however, it did not allow for the necessary time for collaboration.

I understand that there are feelings of hurt and distrust that will not heal overnight. And, I appreciate your humanity and grace as we navigate these tough decisions. We are considering alternate paths in response to many of the needs we’ve heard, including an option for current 7th and 8th grade students to stay at Bessie Rhodes. 

Before we land on a final path, we are hosting additional internal conversations with various teams to ensure we are considering all benefits and drawbacks. Our Individualized Education Services (IES) and multilingual teams are participating in these conversations in order to consider the needs of all students.

We are pivoting to a process that is more intentional, careful, and reflective. I believe that we are all human and deserve the opportunity to correct our mistakes. The Bessie Rhodes community deserves better than we have afforded them. We recognize the need for increased collaboration, especially among all those impacted. As such, I invite 7th and 8th grade parents and caregivers to engage in the following opportunities:

• Monday, October 28, Joseph E. Hill Education Center (6pm): The School Board will engage in a public discussion. No vote will be taken. Spanish interpretation will be provided. Meetings also stream live on the district’s YouTube channel.

• Tuesday, October 29, Bessie Rhodes gymnasium: With members of our team, I am hosting two meetings to engage in a discussion and collaboratively review the various options together. Spanish interpretation will be provided.

  • 5-6pm: 7th grade parents and caregivers

  • 6:30-7:30pm: 8th grade parents and caregivers

A final decision will be communicated by the end of next week. I want to emphasize that no decision has been made, nor will it be made until we hear from stakeholders who are directly impacted by this decision. 

I believe that we all share in wanting what’s best for students. Ultimately, we realize that this looks different for each of us. After concerns were raised by staff and families over students’ current educational experience, our team considered several options that felt responsive. It’s clear we missed the mark and we want to learn more before coming to the best conclusion for all.

We appreciate your partnership and continued advocacy for our students at Bessie Rhodes.

With sincere apologies,

Dr. Angel Turner (she/her)

Superintendent

1. The document contains no student information, no private staff information, is not pre-decisional (because it was discussed in public), and is fundamentally about financial information - which is a key protected class of information in the FOIA Act.