Evanston Named One of the Best Suburbs for Education in America!

From Patch

Evanston ranks among the country’s best suburbs for education, according to the real estate website Movoto.

The site put Evanston at No. 7 on its Top 10 list. It singles out city’s high test scores, high graduation rate and large spending per pupil.

Newton, MA tops the list, with Plymouth and Minnetonka, MN and Wauwatosa, WI representing the Midwest along with Evanston. Evanston is the only Illinois community to make the list.

The site compiled the list by assessing four criteria: student-teacher ration, money spent per year per student, high school graduation rate and GreatSchools.org rating, which is based on test scores.

From NBC Chicago

A Chicago suburb has been named one of the best suburbs for education in the country.

Movoto Real Estate has released a list of the top 50 suburbs for education in America and Evanston snagged a top spot on the list.

Researchers gathered data from more than 100 different suburbs in the U.S. using criteria like student-teacher ratio, money spent per year per student, high school graduation rate and GreatSchools.org or test score ratings.

Evanston ranked no. 7 on the list and was cited for having some of the highest test scores and a high school graduation rate of 91 percent.

The top-ranking suburb in the country was Newton, Massachusetts, followed by Plymouth, Minnesota; Ellicott City, Maryland; Minnetonka, Minnesota; and Dublin, Ohio.

The only other Chicago-area suburb to make the list was Skokie, which ranked at no. 12.

Photos: Another Great YEA! Festival in Evanston

Calling all Artists, Educators and Arts Providers

Check out this resource dedicated to connecting artists, educators and arts providers in Illinois. I’m sharing this with you as part of my efforts to help boost arts in Evanston. Join the fun and register today at www.artseducationexchange.org - more information below in the words of the Arts Alliance.

In the fall of 2011, Arts Alliance Illinois launched the Arts & Education Exchange in partnership with the Illinois Arts Council and the Illinois State Board of Education. The Exchange is a free, easy-to-use website that connects you with educators to give students an opportunity for expression and self-discovery through creative and artistic outlets.

Here are a few key facts about the Exchange:

•It takes less than 5 minutes to register for an account on the Exchange. Then, you can make contact with educators on the Exchange, helping you build relationships at schools.
•You can share details, pictures, video, and audio about your programs on the Exchange. Educators can then tap into the Exchange and search for arts programming that helps them encourage their students’ success.
•Educators can also post specific arts requests for their classrooms on the Exchange, which you can search and respond to in order to craft tailored programs.

Join the Arts & Education Exchange today! Or visit www.artseducationexchange.org.

You may already have strong relationships with educators, but your participation on the Exchange will help to elevate the presence and importance of arts education across the state.

More than 600 people have already registered on the Exchange.

About Arts Alliance Illinois from www.facebook.com/ArtsAllianceIllinois

We're the state's leading voice for the arts and arts education.

When times are tough, the arts and arts education are one of the first things to be cut. We help people across the state who love everything from painting, sculpture, and film to music, dance, and theatre speak out to elected officials and other leaders. That way, your favorite cultural organization -- whether it's an internationally known museum or a community choir -- has the support it needs to keep its lights on and doors open. We're like AARP or Green Peace, but for the arts and arts education.

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Thank you for reading my blog Evanston Newbie, a blog devoted to covering my family's move from El Paso, TX, to Evanston, IL, in 2011. We arrived in June 2011 and several people have pointed out that I am no longer a "newbie" and should start some other blog. But I disagree and want to keep the "newbie" status for a while longer, maybe five years and for several reasons. #1 - there are many Evanston families who have lived here for generations since the town incorporated in the late 1800s, so in comparison to them, I am very much a "newbie". #2 - I firmly believe this blog is a good branding tool for the city of Evanston and it's the least I can do to thank our new town for being so AWESOME! If you have any questions or need to get in touch with my about this blog, Evanston, or anything else you can email me at thelisadshow@gmail.com. Have an awesome 2013.

Free: Race to Nowhere screening and discussion at ETHS

I loved this movie and think this is a great event! It's free and I'm sure the discussion will be lively. Register and reserve tickets, info below. The event is FREE, but you should register so the planners know how many people are coming.

Screening of "Race to Nowhere" Film at ETHS

How do we define success for our children? How do we achieve balance in our homes, schools, and communities? Raising Children in Evanston: A Conversation about the Demands of Modern Childhood will take place Oct. 10th at 7:00pm at ETHS. Evanston parents and educators of children from preschool to grade 12 are invited to a screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary Race to Nowhere (with Spanish subtitles) followed by breakout discussions about what’s going on and what we want to change. Register and reserve your tickets at http://rtnevanstonhs.eventbrite.com. For additional information on the film, see www.racetonowhere.com.