About three and a half years after a formal partnership was established between Evanston Township High School and Northwestern, ETHS announced Thursday that the collaboration, initially focused on STEM programming, has grown to incorporate more than 70 projects.

ETHS District 202’s Board of Education heard a formal update Monday on the partnership, which was established in September 2012 as part of University President Morton Schapiro’s Good Neighbor, Great University initiative. The program initially focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, but has grown to include all academic subjects, college preparedness, and social and cultural activities, according to a news release from ETHS.

Kristen Perkins, partnership coordinator for NU and ETHS, focused on three programs in particular according to the release: Women in STEM (WiSTEM), ETHS students enrolling in NU classes, and tutoring, teaching and mentoring opportunities for NU students at the high school.

“This unique and effective model of town-gown relationships has garnered interest from other universities and schools around the country for best practices in collaborative partnership,” Perkins said in the release.

Monday’s report showed a drastic increase in participation in these programs, with the number of students in WiSTEM growing from nine in 2013 to over 140 in 2016. ETHS student enrollment in NU classes extended into summer programming and tutoring opportunities at the high school were expanded into multiple subject areas, according to the release.

“Students and faculty at ETHS and NU have unparalleled opportunities because of a gifted partnership coordinator, a visionary university president, and faculty and students with abundant love of learning and creativity who continue proposing and developing more and more meaningful projects and relationships,” District 202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said in the release. “This is a win for ETHS, a win for NU and a win for our entire community. I am so grateful.”

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