In an effort to bring the two districts together, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and District 202 school boards will meet tonight at Evanston Township High School.

“It’s important to touch base,” said Mary Erickson, a District 65 board member. “Hearing an issue from a higher education and elementary level and having a common understanding is important. It’s nice to share perspectives.”

The two districts meet together about once a year, Erickson said. The joint meeting primarily serves as an opportunity for both districts to communicate on common issues.

District 65 oversees all of the elementary and middle schools in Evanston and a portion of Skokie. District 202 runs ETHS.

Members of both districts will exchange information regarding curriculum standards and student performance at the meeting.

The boards will jointly address concerns about District 65 students who take geometry classes at ETHS as part of an accelerated math program.

“We have a lot of kids that come from D65 that take math classes at the high school,” said Margaret Lurie, vice president of the District 202 board. “There have been some transportation issues” with busing, she said.

“It’s an ongoing thing, and this (meeting) affords that kind of opportunity to talk about it,” Erickson said.

Both districts will also hold separate meetings following the joint session, with District 202’s portion first.

The District 65 board will vote on a proposal for an extended-day program for at-risk students in the third and fifth grade. The program would be created to help some students avoid summer school but still move to the next grade.

“We will have an after-school program so we can help students get support day by day, ” said Lynn McCarthy, District 65’s assistant superintendent for school operations.

The program will not replace summer school but will help students throughout the year, McCarthy said.

District 65 will also vote to sign a contract with Durham Services as the school bus provider for the district.

Also at the meeting, the Minority Student Achievement Network, a national organization based at ETHS that works to improve minority academic achievement, will present a proposal about a project it hopes to conduct with a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave.