As a longtime teacher in District 65, I poured my heart and soul into every child to the best of my ability. I tutored at-risk kids during the summer, taught extended day reading and math classes, ran book clubs and math clubs.  Many colleagues did the same. Yet, our district kept seeing achievement gaps between our white students and some of our students of color. It is clear that socioeconomic factors were playing a part in the different educational outcomes of my students.

I watched superintendents come and go, each stating that under their watch the achievement gap was going to be addressed and hopefully resolved. I saw firsthand that the children who came to school kindergarten ready, from ANY background, usually stayed on track and on grade level throughout their elementary school experience. I also saw that the children who started kindergarten not prepared, for whatever reasons (mostly socioeconomic), usually did not catch up. Strides were made, kids learned to read, but the gap remained and sometimes widened. 

I started Evanston Moms for Moms to help work to close some of the achievement gaps. As an organization, we will provide culturally appropriate books and educational toys from birth to kindergarten, match moms together with other Evanston moms as an extra support, and encourage literacy and school readiness. More ideas have sprung from here.

So that’s our origin story. We can’t eliminate all the social ills that cause the achievement gap to persist. But even if I CAN help some of the children in my community, then that is a big start. We hope you will contribute and support our efforts to make a difference.