Evanston/Skokie School District 65 was awarded a $600,000 grant Monday to continue its teacher residency program, according to a news release. 

The $600,000 will support CREATE 65, the district’s first-ever residency program, as it continues through the 2022-23 academic year. A one-year intensive teacher preparation program, CREATE 65 places new teachers into classrooms with students four days a week for a school year under the guidance of a district educator. 

Teachers in the program receive a $30,000 residency stipend. They teach at a District 65 school while completing master’s level coursework at Northwestern or National Louis University. At the end of the program, members graduate with a four-year contract to become a District 65 teacher. 

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) delivered the funds to Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center. The funding comes from President Joe Biden’s $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law in March. 

“The program emphasizes equity and super-quality practices and focuses on diversifying our workforce,” Horton said, according to the release. “This is a key strategy for reducing barriers to the profession.” 

CREATE 65 began during the 2021-2022 year, placing educators in three schools: Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School and the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center. This June, the first cohort will graduate. 

The program is now accepting applicants for the 2022-2023 cohort. 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @JorjaSiemons

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