North Cook News

Members of the Evanston Township School Board welcomed Dave Davis of Northwestern and a panel of representatives to talk about the partnership between the university and school districts 65 and 202.

Board members learned about the NEERA, or the Northwestern Evanston Education Research Alliance, during the February 21 board meeting. NEERA studies students' academic performance to better understand education and its best practices. 

"This is something that's been in place for many years. The university has a bold and ambitious goal as being the model or the standard for how a major academic research institution engages with its local community. And that's really rooted in the partnership with our educational systems from D 65, the D of 202," Davis, the University's Director of Neighborhood and Community Relations said. "And so I just want to say, on behalf of the president, our board of trustees, our academic institution, we are committed to the longevity of this partnership. We want to grow it, sustain it, and build on the good work that we've done."

The University has the Office of Community Education Partnerships, which allows educators and professionals to get together and discuss the partnerships and relationships in education throughout the community. The goal is to facilitate collaboration and relationship building between educators from different schools and departments, encourage data and resource sharing, and facilitate discussions among educators, administrators, and students of the districts as well. 

The relationship between Evanston High and Northwestern is meant to support the students and educators of both the district and university through a variety of programs. One example of that is the university's theatre department hosts a theatre experience for D65 drama students. There is also a collaboration between the music and computer science departments to bring new opportunities to the younger students.

The future of NEERA will be focusing on communication protocols, both between the educational entities and their communications outward to their stakeholders, families, and the general public. The goal is to create more community based programs and initiatives to fully engage the student as a whole person, better understanding their broader background and interests. The board was excited about the presentation and continuation of the relationship, asking the panel some questions before they concluded.