Evanston/Skokie
School District 65
Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies History
The school opened in 1957 as a neighborhood school named Timber Ridge Elementary School. In the 1970s the school was closed due to low enrollment. The school was re-opened in 1995 as Timber Ridge Magnet School as a way of balancing enrollment in the school district. The first principal was Dr. Bessie Rhodes and in 2004, the school was renamed in her honor.
Dr. Bessie Rhodes
The school is named for Dr. Bessie Rhodes. Dr. Rhodes held many impactful and innovative positions in Evanston schools from the 1970s-1990s including: kindergarten teacher on the first staff of the new Martin Luther King Laboratory School; Chairwoman of the kindergarten center; principal of Miller School; Director of Curriculum and Instruction and; principal of Haven Middle School. In 1995, she became the first principal of Timber Ridge Magnet School, where she also helped to recruit students and teachers to this new magnet school. Outside of teaching, Dr. Rhodes loved music, and served as the organist at Second Baptist Church and co-founder of the District 65 Community Chorus.1 She is the first Black woman to have a school named after her in Evanston.
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1Shorefront Journal
The D65 School History project is the result of a partnership with Evanston History Center. The research on Dr. Bessie Rhodes was completed by the Evanston History Center.
School History
Interested in the history of other District 65 schools?
Chute Middle School, originally named Oscar M. Chute Junior High, opened in 1966.
Dawes School is named after U.S. Vice President General Charles G. Dawes.
Dewey Elementary School was the first school in Evanston to have a kindergarten.
In 2004 Dr. Bessie Rhodes became the first Black woman to have a school named after her in Evanston.
The original King Lab was located in what is now Family Focus.
Ellen Foster, the first principal, viewed the school as a community hub.
Haven Middle School was initially built to serve students from two school districts.
Joseph E. Hill became Evanston's first Black superintendent of schools in 1975.
Namesake Homer Kingsley started the first Evanston public school kindergarten in 1882.
In the 1890s, children voted to name their new school "Lincoln" after the U.S. President.
The name incorporates nearby geographical features: Lincoln Street and a wooded area.
Frederick Nichols worked closely with the architect to create a school full of treasures.
Oakton is home to murals created by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.
Orrington's site was previously home to a Potawatomi village and burial ground.
The predecessor to Park School was established in 1949 by a group of parents.
The school was named after Chicago-area philanthropists Daniel and Ada Rice.
Walker opened to address rising enrollment due to the baby boom generation.
The yellow brick building on the corner of Main and Ashland is the original school.
The school was named after world-renowned social reformer Frances Willard.