Not long after his Monday swearing-in to the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, Chris Van Nostrand jumped into the fray during a presentation on recent student achievement.
By one measure of college readiness, 74% of fifth through eighth graders have stayed on track in English, roughly the same as in previous years, while 45% have in mathematics, a dip of a few percentage points. The district has set a goal for 80% in language arts and 50% in math by next year.
After asking district staff about the disparity between the language arts and math, Van Nostrand followed up with a more pointed question.
“Coming at this from a new perspective, my position is: Why aren’t our goals 100%?”
Van Nostrand’s appointment to the Board of Education ended a months-long impasse that until January had stymied the financially-challenged district’s plans to save money by closing one or more schools. His selection solves the problem of the Board deadlocking with tie votes of 3-3, as it will now have an odd number.
Beyond ending the impasse, however, Van Nostrand made sure to make his voice heard at several points in Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
Van Nostrand finished fifth in the 2025 election for four Board of Education seats; his campaign had emphasized improving student performance. A District 65 parent who has worked in higher education marketing, he runs Strength Wise Barbell, a personal training outfit in Evanston.
His debut comes at an inflection point for District 65, which will shutter two schools at the end of the current school year but will also open a new one, the under-construction Foster School.
When Omar Salem vacated his Board of Education seat in November, the district had already long decided to close the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies. Under its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, the district sought to close additional schools and had narrowed its options to one or two closures.
With the Board of Education reduced to six members, it deadlocked twice on whether to close one or two schools in successive November and December votes. Furthermore, it could not agree on whom to appoint for Salem’s vacated seat.
Though the Board of Education members eventually came around to give an initial nod on Jan. 9 to close only Kingsley Elementary School, the responsibility of choosing a new member had by then passed to the regional superintendent of schools.
So on Feb. 2, Van Nostrand got the appointment.
“I’m really seeking to collaborate with my fellow Board members to identify a long-term vision for the district that puts us in a really great position 10 years from now, while also identifying some quick lanes in the near term that would make life better for families and their students,” Van Nostrand told Pioneer Press moments after assuming his perch on the dais Monday evening.
And after being sworn in by Board President Patricia Anderson, he got an all-around taste of the issues and recent developments at district schools.
Much of the discussion centered on the student achievement update and transportation issues rather than on the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which has dominated many previous meetings.
“I’m really excited that we’re talking about this today actually, y’all, instead of SDRP,” Superintendent Angel Turner said. “Because it’s always been about improving academic outcomes for the students in this district.”
Later, after receiving an update on Foster School construction in Evanston, the Board of Education approved a pact with the city government. The agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding, calls on District 65 to pay for a new crosswalk at Dodge Avenue and Foster Street, as well as flashing signs at two crossings along Emerson Street.
Under the pact, the city would take charge of construction and bill the district for the work.
“What I would express, for me, is just a desire to be an equal, full partner with the city,” Board member Andrew Wymer said.
