In a rare clashing of city government and public schools in Evanston, Mayor Daniel Biss and Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen penned a letter to Evanston/Skokie District 65 Superintendent Angel Turner and the school board on Friday afternoon, asking them to reverse course on the decision to close seventh and eighth grade at the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies next month.
Turner notified families of the decision, which will force 42 students to change schools in the middle of November, on Wednesday. Biss and Van Dusen said they “were startled and concerned” by that move, and also “further troubled” by the district choosing to cancel a scheduled Zoom meeting with families on Thursday night.
Administrators said they canceled the Thursday evening call because, “We no longer believe this will be a safe or productive space for group dialogue given that the link was shared publicly via social media and within a local media article.”…