FAQ: Willard TWI

We are hosting events for Willard TWI families on January 15 (in person at Willard) and January 22 (virtual). While these gatherings are centered on our Willard TWI staff and families, who are experiencing the greatest impact of this change, this space is open to all Willard staff and families. We hope to provide a welcoming environment for processing feelings and looking ahead to what’s next. Both meetings will include Spanish interpretation, and the in-person event (January 15) will include free childcare.

Community-building events, meetings, and celebrations are being scheduled for this spring and summer. Going forward, Willard TWI families will be included on all communications about Foster community engagement opportunities and events. 

Current Willard TWI students and K-5 Bessie Rhodes students will all be assigned to Foster School’s TWI program regardless of where the family lives. If, however, a family does not wish to attend the TWI program at Foster or does not wish to remain in TWI, then the family must complete a request to attend home school form. If the student lives in the Haven feeder pattern (Willard, Orrington, Lincolnwood or Kingsley) and is designated as an English Learner (EL/TWS), they would receive EL services at their home school which is dictated by the family’s home address. EL/TWS students wishing to exit the TWI program must also finalize the exit with the district’s Multilingual team.

If a family opts out of attending the TWI program at Foster and Willard is NOT their home school, but they wish to remain at Willard, two steps are needed:

1. Complete a request to attend home school form and the student would be assigned to the school associated with their address. For example, if a student lived in the Orrington boundaries, their home school would be Orrington.
2. Complete a permissive transfer request to attend Willard’s monolingual program. This permissive transfer would not be automatically approved; it would be reviewed based on criteria which include the number of students already enrolled.

The District understands that it is difficult to change schools. We do believe that families with Willard TWI students should transition to Foster and be part of the consolidated TWI strand; research shows TWI programs have the best academic achievement outcomes for English Language Learners. The opportunity to be part of a larger TWI community in a new school can be a wonderful opportunity. Additionally, students continue into Haven Middle School, where they will have a chance to reconnect with their peers from Willard and be part of the dual language program there.

A school closure requires three public hearings and a vote by the School Board. This decision is not made with a future school closure in mind. 

District 65 deeply values the Two-Way Immersion program and the vibrant learning environment it creates among students. This consolidation of strands is not to lessen the impact of the program but to ensure its continued success. Below are some of the factors and reasons behind this consolidation:

• Program size: The decision to consolidate strands is driven by class sizes and utilization rates. Despite increased TWI enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year, K-5 TWI enrollment (795 as of December 2025) is still well within capacity for seven strands (1,008 seats). The ability to build community and use both languages in classroom communities are significant aspects of the program that suffer when class sizes are small.
• Program placement: To place these strands, district administrators reviewed and utilized guidance from the SDRP Student Programming committee and SAP committees. The two key takeaways from those committees were: (1) Consider establishing/maintaining at least one TWI program in every middle school feeder pattern, with a focus on historically underserved neighborhoods, and (2) Maintain the 67/33 classroom composition and prioritize walkable access for TWS/TWX students, particularly across hazard zones wherever possible. This program placement meets those two recommendations.
• Walkability: With Foster opening, the district has the opportunity to provide a true neighborhood TWI option for TWS/TWX families in the Haven feeder pattern.

These are detailed in depth in the 2026-27 Program Placement Memo and the Program Placement Presentation.

Students enrolled in the TWI program currently participate in STAR assessments in both English and Spanish. English STAR reading and writing data will be used to assess students’ current levels of English proficiency upon exiting TWI and to determine whether additional academic support is needed. If assessment data indicates a need, students will receive targeted support through the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Additionally, students who exit TWI and continue to qualify as English Learners will remain eligible for and receive ongoing language development support from an EL educator to ensure continued progress in English language acquisition and academic achievement.

At the end of each school year our staff spends extensive time reflecting on the academic and social-emotional needs of each child to make recommendations for their class placement for the coming school year. These reflections are used to create classrooms that proactively plan for the academic and social-emotional needs of the class as well as individual students. The focus is on creating a classroom experience that allows students to build new relationships, grow academically, and continues to foster their sense of community and support. We do not accept requests based on peer relationships, but we are intentionally strategic in our classroom assignments for all of our students.

Willard TWI students who wish to stay at Willard in a monolingual environment instead of continuing with TWI at Foster School are being asked to follow the same process as other students who are experiencing a change in school assignment due to attendance boundaries. Submitting a permissive transfer or return to home school request form allows the district to accurately determine enrollment and staffing needs at each school building. Requests must be reviewed to make sure we can safely accommodate and staff the number of students who are requesting a transfer.

At this time, the District does not have confirmed enrollment data indicating how many TWE students who currently reside outside the Foster attendance boundary plan to enroll at Foster. Enrollment patterns will continue to be monitored closely as families make placement decisions. 

The importance of TWI classroom composition applies to students in the classroom, not to the entire cohort of a feeder pattern.  There is variance in the classroom composition from grade level to grade level in every TWI program.

The District recognizes the importance of maintaining a balanced linguistic model in a Two-Way Immersion program. If enrollment trends result in the program falling below the 67–33 ratio due to a significant decline in TWE student participation, the program would transition to a One-Way Dual Language model. This shift would ensure that TWS/TWX students continue to receive high-quality language and literacy instruction and required language services in Spanish, while maintaining program continuity and instructional coherence.

We will continue to follow our District 65 board approved transportation policies:

• Students who live within Foster's attendance boundaries will receive free transportation in accordance with Policy 4:110 if they: (1) reside 1.5 miles or more from Foster, or (2) reside within 1.5 miles where walking to school or to a bus stop would constitute a serious safety hazard due to either vehicular traffic/rail crossing or a course or pattern of criminal activity, and adequate public transportation is not available.
• EL students enrolled in the TWI program (TWS and TWX/former EL students) who do not live within Foster's attendance boundaries will receive free transportation under Policy 4:110. This applies regardless of distance from the school.
• All other TWI students may be eligible for transportation under Policy 4:112 if they either: (1) live 1.5 miles or more from Foster, or (2) live within 1.5 miles but must cross an IDOT-approved hazard where adequate public transportation is not available.

The cost to transport students from Wards 6 and 7 to Foster School will be cost-neutral compared to the current cost of transporting Ward 5 students to Willard.

Currently, there are two Willard routes serving Ward 5 students. Under the new configuration, these same two routes will be redirected to Foster School to serve Bessie Rhodes students who do not live within Foster's attendance boundaries and current Willard TWI students who do not live within Foster's attendance boundaries. This repurposing of existing routes means no additional transportation costs will be incurred by the district.

Under current Policy 4:112, most TWE students in the 6th and 7th Wards would be offered transportation to Foster because they would need to cross currently designated hazardous routes to reach the school, or because they live 1.5 miles or more from Foster. However, the exact number depends on several factors that are currently under review:

• Students living 1.5 miles or more from Foster 
• Students living within 1.5 miles may qualify if they must cross an IDOT-approved hazard and adequate public transportation is not available

Transportation under Policy 4:112 is provided for a fee: parents pay two-thirds of the cost and the District pays one-third, except that students eligible for free lunch receive free transportation and students eligible for reduced-price lunch pay a reduced rate.

Since the Board is currently reviewing transportation policies and practices, including the designation of hazardous routes, the eligibility criteria may change. We will provide updated information once the policy review is complete.

View the suggested safe routes to school for Foster students who are going to walk or bike. Please note that determinations for the crossing guards will be finalized this spring after we solidify student enrollment.

For more information on the district's work with the City of Evanston to implement a traffic and safety plan, view this memo from December 2025.

The current IDOT hazards are Green Bay from Ridge north to the City line, Golf and Emerson from Crawford to the intersection with Green Bay, Dempster from Crawford to Ridge, and  McCormick from Green Bay to Howard. View Student Walk/Bike Routes

The full Willard TWI cohort will have the opportunity to stay in the same school together. Classroom rosters in Foster TWI will be a mix of students from Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies and Willard.

At the end of each school year our staff spends extensive time reflecting on the academic and social-emotional needs of each child to make recommendations for their class placement for the coming school year. These reflections are used to create classrooms that proactively plan for the academic and social-emotional needs of the class as well as individual students. The focus is on creating a classroom experience that allows students to build new relationships, grow academically, and continues to foster their sense of community and support. Staff from Willard and Bessie Rhodes will complete the information for their students aligned with the above parameters. The Foster School staff and administration will use the provided information to place students in classes. 

Additionally, classrooms are built in a manner that maintains a composition of TWE, TWS, and TWX students, which is aligned to the TWI model. Staff will ensure that students from Willard and Rhodes have classmates from their former school in their class.

Having two strands per grade in a dual language (DL/TWI) program is considered a best-practice design and brings clear instructional, programmatic, and equity benefits. Two strands protect the program long-term. If one section experiences enrollment dips, staffing changes, or scheduling challenges, the program remains intact. In addition to stronger program sustainability and language model balance, a two-stand program allows for planning and collaboration between TWI teachers.

Additionally two strands allow for a larger peer community for TWI students; for classroom compositions to change year to year; for mixing with students in special classes, lunch and P.E. classes; and for a larger parent community to support students, families, the program and the school.

A survey was administered to 48 TWI educators last spring (April 2025) and the District received 23 responses. Of those respondents, 65% indicated a preference for having two strands per building. Additionally, 87% believed that this structure would improve collaboration with other teachers and increase access to shared materials and resources, and 70% believed it would strengthen fidelity to the language model.

Yes! As at other neighborhood schools in District 65, Foster School will offer band and orchestra to 4th and 5th grade students.

The “A Day in the Life” presentation on November 3 was intentionally created with the knowledge that Foster will be home to monolingual and TWI classrooms. The school traditions, content knowledge, before- and after-school opportunities, and an education rooted in identity, inquiry, and justice are concepts that will apply to ALL students regardless of their language of instruction.

ACC Reimagined programming and opportunities will not be isolated to monolingual English environments. Culturally responsive teaching elements and community and cultural experiences that have been added to the English-speaking strands also include the TWI community to promote a sense of unity and cohesion among peers and across grade levels.

Both TWI and monolingual English strands at Foster will use the same district math curriculum, which is I-Ready. In elementary TWI classrooms, the language of math instruction is Spanish with strategic bridging of academic vocabulary to English. TWI classrooms at Foster will use the same math curriculum guidelines as other TWI schools.

Components of the reimagined ACC serve both TWI and general education strands, while other aspects are more focused on the general education strands. The culturally responsive teaching elements will be integral in both TWI and the general education (ACC reimagined) strands. The elements include sparking curiosity and connecting lessons to students' lives, ensuring students have time to think and discuss, and checking for understanding so learning is embedded. The focus will be on students being taught how to think by asking their own questions, investigating answers and solving problems collaboratively.

Foster School will have before- and after-school care similar to other K-5 schools in District 65. Enrichment opportunities will be part of the school offerings but are yet to be defined.  

For native Spanish-speakers who are designated as TWS or TWX and live in the Haven feeder pattern, younger siblings would be assigned to the Foster TWI program. 2026-2027 attendance boundaries map

For English-speaking students (TWE) interested in the TWI program, the younger sibling would need to apply to and be accepted into TWI through the lottery. If the student is accepted and the family lives in the Haven feeder pattern, the sibling would be assigned to Foster.  If the family lives in Nichols or Chute feeder patterns, the sibling would be offered a TWI seat in their feeder pattern.

District 65 has heard the question from the community about whether TWI is a magnet program. We are working with legal counsel to determine if in fact TWI should be considered a magnet program.

Regardless of the outcome of the magnet question, District 65 has been providing sibling preference for TWI enrollment within the student’s feeder pattern. If a family submits a TWI application for a younger sibling of a student enrolled in TWI, registration will preference the application for acceptance at the school of the sibling within the applicant group (ie. TWE or TWS/X). The sibling’s TWI program must be in the feeder pattern where the family currently resides.

If the older sibling is attending a TWI program outside of the family's feeder pattern,  registration will work with the family to see if there is a feasible way to have the students at the same TWI school in the feeder pattern. 

Permissive transfers are always pending space availability at the grade level so the District really cannot state a probability. We do anticipate that there will be additional room at Foster each year as the cohorts of Bessie Rhodes students graduate from Foster.

We are committed to upholding all collective bargaining agreements. The Human Relations department is launching the hiring process for Foster Elementary School soon; when those details are finalized, they will be provided to all staff.

A bilingual school administrator has been hired for Foster Elementary School. Principal Berkel’s biography is available here. 

We are working with Principal Berkel and the Foster hiring committee to hire an assistant principal with a goal of having the candidate identified by the end of February.

District 65 is undergoing significant change. The school board still needs to discuss reductions as a part of the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan (SDRP) process and the administration must run our registration and student assignment process to determine school enrollments. It is too early to determine student enrollment for Willard or other schools. Our ongoing focus will be to maintain the process of keeping our school based staffing model in alignment with the system we put in place for the current school year.  We will follow the same process moving forward for all school changes. 

District 65 is committed to intentionally and visibly honoring Latino cultures and traditions throughout the school year at Foster, just as we currently do at all District 65 schools. This includes schoolwide celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month; culturally responsive assemblies and family events; the inclusion of Latino authors, history, and perspectives in classroom instruction; and the continued use of bilingual practices in daily routines such as morning announcements in both English and Spanish.

To ensure the long-term strength of the TWI program at Foster, the district will continue to actively recruit families across the Haven feeder pattern through coordinated collaboration and targeted outreach events. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the TWI model by maintaining the language allocation, staffing our classrooms with qualified bilingual educators, and ensuring access to instructional resources that support biliteracy development. As Bessie Rhodes families transition out, we will intentionally monitor enrollment, support retention, and engage current and prospective families so that the program remains vibrant, balanced, and sustainable over time.

Additionally, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, Haven Middle School will offer a clear and high-quality Dual Language continuation for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, that builds directly on students’ elementary TWI experience. By supporting current TWI students and welcoming new families from across the feeder pattern, the program will maintain strong enrollment and a vibrant bilingual community. Clear communication, family engagement, and a focus on long-term benefits like biliteracy and the Seal of Biliteracy ensure the program’s long-term success. The Haven Middle School administration has been meeting monthly since last year and has a variety of strategies to accomplish a strong program model for the middle school.

The district envisions Foster as a school that proudly serves its neighborhood while also embracing its role as a destination for families seeking a high-quality dual language experience. We will support Foster in creating inclusive school traditions, shared leadership opportunities for families from both the neighborhood and the TWI program, and consistent communication that affirms all students as full members of the school community. This hybrid identity will be reinforced through schoolwide events, family engagement structures, and a unified vision that positions multilingualism and cultural diversity as assets that benefit the entire Foster community.

We are looking into whether this is feasible before the school officially opens! The more community-building events, the better. We highly value our PTA partnerships and will keep the community updated about this possibility.

School will start at 9:05 a.m. and end at 3:35 p.m. The hours are the same at all elementary schools, including Willard’s.

As a D65 school, Foster School will provide the same options for before/after school programs as other D65 elementary programs. The reduced and free cost options are also defined at the District level and are similar to Willard. 

Regardless of school location, all students with IEPs and 504 Plans will continue to receive services in full compliance with IDEA and Section 504. Each plan will be implemented at the required intensity and specificity, and transition planning will occur in advance to ensure Foster staff and receiving classrooms are fully prepared to implement all services, accommodations, and supports, so that students are prepared for a successful transition based on their individual needs.

The district will provide the School Board with any data or information they request, and at this point in time there have been no requests for this data from board members.

Staffing for all special education and related services, including bilingual service providers, related service staff such as social workers, and other required personnel, is driven by student needs. Once District 65 has an accurate picture of Foster's student enrollment, including IEPs and 504 Plans, the District will apply the same staffing methodology and allocation process used at other District 65 schools to ensure appropriate and compliant service delivery.

Our Individualized Education Services and Research, Assessment, Accountability, and Data (RAAD) teams believe this information could be personally identifiable for a group of this size. We encourage you to look at the Illinois Report Card website, which includes the percentage of students with IEPs for each District 65 school.
        
Students with IEPs and 504s receive services and supports at every school in District 65. The same will be true for Willard TWI students who have an IEP or 504 who go to Foster School next school year.

When a student has an emergency action plan, which is the case with a severe allergy, all staff who need to know about it receive a copy of the plan. Staff also receive EpiPen training before the first day of school.

Additionally, lunch supervisors receive training prior to students returning to school, which includes topics such as relationship building, allergy awareness and protocol, deescalation and reporting procedures.  

The district partners with West40 to conduct comprehensive school safety assessments at all schools prior to the start of each school year, which will now include Foster School. The Climate and Safety team conducts walkthroughs with all school leaders prior to the beginning of the school year to review safety procedures and entry and exit procedures. District 65 will follow the same safety and security systems, processes and structures we have in place for every D65 school.

All schools in District 65 conduct state required school safety drills within the first 90 days and throughout the school year. The Climate and Safety team will work with the Foster School school leadership team over the summer to practice safety drills in preparation for the beginning of the school year. The Climate and Safety team partners with all schools to ensure that safety drills are completed in a timely manner and reported to the state as well as to ensure that crisis management plans remain up to date. This includes walkthroughs of the plan with all school safety/CARES team members.

For information on the district's work with the City of Evanston to implement a traffic and safety plan, view this memo from December 2025. Safety remains a priority at all of our schools; we have systems in place to make sure we are proactive in our approach to safety for all students, staff, and families. See a list of safety initiatives here. 

Buses will pick up from the Simpson Street school entrance and parent pick-up will occur on Ashland, which will be a one-way street heading south (from Simpson to Foster) during school pick-up and drop-off hours. The entrances at Simpson and at Ashland have been designed with student safety measures at the forefront.

• Simpson Entrance: The design includes a reinforced concrete bench wall that runs parallel to Simpson Street. Additionally, the plan is to retain the row of mature trees along the sidewalk line in front of the school. The doors are set back approximately 41 feet from the vehicular traffic lane.
• Ashland Entrance: The design includes a row of vehicle bollards along the drop-off lane outside the main entrance steps. It also has a precast concrete wing wall on the south and a concrete ramp with a concrete retaining wall capping the stairs on the north. The doors are set back approximately 42 feet from the vehicular traffic lane.

The entrance areas and proximity to bus and parent pick up lanes also match the school entrance/exits at Bessie Rhodes, Lincoln, and Walker schools.
Most students who walk to and from school will exit the school from the rear into the fenced-in, protected playground and playfield area. The school has been designed with three separate entrance and exit areas to the back playground/playfield area — one each for the kindergarten classes, grades 1-2, and grades 3-5.
 

As in all D65 schools, student safety is a priority. As all D65 schools, Foster School will have security cameras and safety protocols. School facilities are designed to support safe supervision and staff have clear supervision protocols and expectations.  We do not have dedicated security personnel at any of our schools. 

A fence will be around the entire perimeter of the playground and playfield area of the school, clearly separating the school from neighboring properties.

Students arriving to school will congregate on the fenced-in playground/playfield areas (weather-dependent). As with all of our elementary schools, staff will be on the playground to supervise before school (within staff members’ contractual hours).

At the end of the day, students who take the bus will exit the main entrance directly to their bus on Simpson. Students being picked up will exit from the Atrium Ashland Street entrance.

Detailed entry/exit procedures will be provided in back-to-school information that is sent to families prior to the start of the school year. This information will also be shared on the Foster School website as we approach the school year (in alignment with other D65 back-to-school communications).

The cut-out lane for student drop off extends the length of the school on Ashland Street and provides ample space for those who need short-term parking to drop off/pick up a student.

This question was already answered; please see “What emergency drills will be conducted for Foster School teachers and staff prior to the first day of school and how many times will all Foster School teachers and staff practice those drills before the first day of school?”

Yes. All schools have a full-time health staff member.

The State of Illinois requires a lesson on firearm storage as a state instructional mandate. This learning is addressed Districtwide.

The Dual Language program is a continuous model with specific language, literacy, and content expectations that build year over year. It would be difficult for students to rejoin once they have exited the program, as the program requires engagement with grade-level content and academic vocabulary in Spanish for math, science, and portions of language arts.

While we strongly recommend that a student not skip a year in TWI, because of the closure of Rhodes and TWI consolidation, it is clear that some TWI families may have a preference to finish their last year at Willard and not remain in the TWI program yet enroll in the Dual Language Middle School program at Haven. If that is the case for your current 4th grader, to enter the Dual Language Middle School program your child would have to complete a Spanish language assessment as well as a content assessment administered in Spanish. This would only be available for current 4th graders at Willard and Bessie Rhodes entering 6th grade in the school year 2027-2028.

The goal is to have enough dual language students at Haven to operate two strands. The number of strands will be directly determined by student enrollment.

Middle school dual language also offers more opportunities for building a larger student and teacher community.  Students engage in courses where the language of instruction is Spanish and courses where the language of instruction is English. The English courses allow opportunities for dual language students to be in classes with non-dual language students and broadens their community.

We continue to review this with our legal counsel and we understand that there are inconsistencies in the language used on the District 65 website.  We will follow up with the School Board if for any reason it is determined that Board action is needed to support this decision.

The District follows a process that holds no less than 50% of the seats in a TWI classroom for TWS/X students during the enrollment process. TWE families are entered into a lottery and accepted based on seats available. If a significant number of seats remain open (unclaimed by TWS/X students), registration will offer some of the seats to TWE students as long as it keeps the language allocation within the 67/33 range. Registration also holds a limited number of seats going into the year to accommodate Spanish-speaking students who move in during the school year and qualify for EL services.

It is the case that not all TWE students are accepted to the program. It is also true that some TWE families are accepted and decline because the program is not at the school site they were hoping to attend.  As is true, to a lesser extent, of some TWS/X families.

The Board memo and presentation explain that there were two decision points that ultimately led to the consolidation of Bessie Rhodes and Willard TWI.  The districtwide enrollment drove the decision for reducing strands from eight to seven and the guidance from various committees (SAP and SDRP) contributed to the decision on where to locate the strands.

In regards to other single strand schools, there are no feasible and beneficial options to shift to double strands at this time. In the Chute feeder pattern, we have two single strand schools (Dawes and Oakton). Neither can be a double strand TWI building without pushing the enrollment in the monolingual classrooms well above District class size guidelines. The unintended impact of moving to a TWI double strand would be that there would be only one class per grade for monolingual. In the Nichols feeder pattern, Dewey is a single strand. Nichols TWI enrollment justifies three strands and there is already a double strand at Washington so there is not an option for consolidation.

We can understand how allowing the program to gradually end sounds appealing. This is the strategy that we used when the decision was made to convert the Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies to a wall to wall dual language school. The monolingual program exited out one year at a time and the TWI strands moved in one year at a time (ie. Grades K/1 are TWI and grades 2-8 are monolingual and the next year grades K-2 are TWI and 3-8 are monolingual).  We discovered over time that this can create tension across programs and impact morale.  

TWI is a valuable and unique program. The educators work hard to provide a different learning experience and frequently need to do significantly more adaptation than our monolingual teachers.  Winding down the program in a gradual way can be socially and professionally isolating for the TWI program students and staff. It can lead to a decrease in support for the educators and the students, and it presents challenges for families with younger siblings who may attend TWI at a different school.

District 65 included the students who are currently enrolled in the Willard TWI program throughout the SDRP III scenario modeling process. We applied the same data rules for all TWI students. We mapped TWI students to the TWI program closest to where they live AND in the middle school feeder pattern.  

This question is asking to see a scorecard before we began to assign students to the Foster TWI program.  

Please see the original Willard scorecard which is on the District 65 website. This is the scorecard that was produced prior to any scenario modeling. The baseline scorecard values helped to inform where we started in our modeling. The baseline scorecards reflected where students lived so all students who live in the Board-approved 2026-27 Willard boundaries regardless of whether they were in the TWI program or not were reflected in the data and scorecard values. This was a consistent methodology used for all schools with TWI programs.

The first round of one-school closure modeling reviewed by the subcommittee had 8 strands of TWI. These tables were reviewed by the subcommittee and showed several TWI strands with utilization rates below 60% which helped lead to the recommendation to move to 7 strands.