On March 18, 2024, the District 65 School Board entered into a three-year “Performance Based Superintendent’s Contract” with Dr. Angel Turner. The contract contains eight goals that the School Board will use to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the Superintendent. Because the goals are used to evaluate the Superintendent, the goals conceptually set the priorities of the School Board. Yet, not one of the eight goals contains a clear statement that student performance will be improved and not one of the goals contains a clear statement that student achievement will be increased. In ..read more

Lyon Frey-San Martin stands with his poster board about animal mimicry. Credit: Caroline Neal For Lyon Frey-San Martin, animals are among his favorite things. He said Japanese macaques, jaguars and slow lorises interest him most. When it came time for the Dewey Elementary Science Fair this year, making his project about animals was the natural choice. On Wednesday evening, students like Lyon showed off their science experiments to other students and parents at Dewey’s annual fair. Any third-, fourth- or fifth-grader was invited to participate in the event, for which they worked individually o ..read more

Dos Bros Fresh Mexican Grill, a fast-casual restaurant, will open soon on Orrington Avenue. Credit: Caroline Neal Evanston is getting a new Mexican fast-casual restaurant this spring: Dos Bros Fresh Mexican Grill. The chain restaurant location will open in about two weeks at 1629 Orrington Avenue where Naf Naf Grill was, according to owner Pradhyum Patel. The restaurant will serve burritos, bowls, salads, nachos, tacos and quesadillas. Prices depend on the protein and toppings chosen and generally start at $9.85 for chicken, spicy chicken, spicy tofu, and veggies. Steak starts at $10.99, carn ..read more

Erik Van Leer in the No. 1 spot last year at the Central Suburban League championship meet. Credit: @ETHSports Twitter The crowd grew silent and all eyes were on Erik Van Leer when he competed on parallel bars Wednesday night at Niles West. The same thing happened when he started his routine on horizontal bar. The Evanston junior isn’t just staking a claim as one of the best gymnasts in school history. He’s also becoming a crowd-pleaser. Van Leer owned the spotlight as he captured the Central Suburban League all-around title for the third year in a row, scoring first-place finishes in every ev ..read more

Faith Walh (Fanny) and ensemble in How to Know the Wild Flowers: A Map at Northwestern’s Ethel M. Barber Theatre. It runs through April 28. Credit: Justin Barbin At the start of each indoor Northwestern University event, someone will read the land acknowledgement that declares for the audience, “We are on sacred ground.” That acknowledgement is a jumping-off point for How to Know the Wild Flowers: A Map. It opened last weekend at the Ethel M. Barber Theater within NU’s Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts. Julie Marie Myatt and Jessica Thebus are co-directors and co-creators along wi ..read more

Once in a while, a group of musicians visit Evanston and produce music that seems to have been crafted by a species of humans who have evolved to a higher level of creativity. On Monday and Tuesday, SPACE hosted four sold-out shows by four of these next-level musicians. Hiromi brought her band, Sonicwonder, to Evanston Space on Monday and Tuesday. Credit: Chris Gillock Hiromi Uehara is known professionally as Hiromi – a single-name star, like Beyonce or Prince. She is a Japanese pianist and composer known for her technical wizardry and mastery of multiple genres, including post-bop, fusion, s ..read more

Senior citizens can get a break on their property tax bills, but they need to apply when seeking savings for the first time. The popular tax break is known as the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption. For homeowners already receiving the break, Senior Citizen Homestead Exemptions are automatically renewed for properties that were not sold to new owners in the last year. Homeowners applying for Senior Citizen Homestead Exemptions for the first time are eligible if they are 65 years of age or older and own and occupy their property as their principal place of residence. If a married couple jointl ..read more

Evanston’s 2024 Starlight Concert & Movie Series will feature nine free outdoor concerts and 11 free outdoor movies at park locations throughout the summer. Starlight Concerts Starlight concerts will kick off on June 4 and take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m on Tuesdays (*unless otherwise specified). In the event of inclement weather, concerts will be canceled. The decision to cancel will be made by 4 p.m. on the show date. Community members can learn about cancellations by calling 847-448-4311 (until 6 p.m.) or visiting the city website. Community members will enjoy a range of talented ar ..read more

“History is all around us,” said Laurice Bell, Shorefront Legacy Center executive director, at a ceremony marking the completion of an oral history project where 16 high school students interviewed 13 Evanston residents who qualified for city reparations. “When we interact, it can make a world of difference,” said Bell. Here (from left), Kailey Vaughn of Niles North High School joins residents Priscilla Giles and Sherria Lois Wedlow along with Devon Cravens, of Evanston Township High School. “We did this program with our hearts and souls,” said Bell, at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center. “W ..read more

Gabriela Montero appears at Northwestern’s Galvin Recital Hall on April 29 as part of the Bienen School of Music’s Skyline Piano Artist series. Credit: Anders Brogaard The first of May is coming up – May Day! Many people celebrate International Workers’ Day on this date. Others frolic around the maypole. Mayday is also the international signal of distress often used as an interjection (“Mayday! Mayday!”) or an adjective (“a Mayday signal”). Here in Evanston, May Day means “More music!” A great cover band will be rocking the house at Double Clutch Brewing on Thursday. Pianist Ben Paterson and ..read more