Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education President Pat Savage-Williams is looking to continue her work in equity at Evanston Township High School.

Savage-Williams spent her career working in special education and equity, most recently at New Trier High School. She has served on the District 202 board for 12 years.

She said that in her next term she wants to preserve the identity of the district, even if that means potentially losing federal funding. 

“What’s on my mind and what’s on the mind of so many people in our community is the fear of what’s gonna happen next,” Savage-Williams said. “That’s millions of dollars. I can’t imagine that we could change who we are.”

Savage-Williams spoke with The Daily about her time on the board and her goals for the district’s future.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Daily: What went into your decision to run for another term on the District 202 board?

Savage-Williams: I’ve been focused on really making sure that all students have access to the resources that they need for success.

Looking at the historical patterns, we know that there are some groups that don’t seem to have those resources, or at least they’re not readily available to them.

The Daily: For this term specifically, is there anything you want to accomplish in terms of either continuing the work you’ve already done or something new?

Savage-Williams: I can’t really talk about this without talking about the climate we’re in. It’s extremely scary right now. None of us know what’s ahead. I don’t know if we’re going to be safe. It is really important to respond in a way that doubles down on who we are, our values and identities, making sure that our responses hold all those things into account.

The Daily: What values do you hold close when you’re helping make decisions for the school community?

Savage-Williams: We have been consistent in making sure that all of our students, for example, have a post-high school plan. So they come in, and we make sure that we start addressing that right away.

Some students don’t have those resources and opportunities, so we have to identify who those students are and work a little bit harder to give them those resources and opportunities. The equity work is important. We believe that you can’t have excellence without equity.

The Daily: What are you most proud of accomplishing during your 12 years on the board? 

Savage-Williams: The hiring of Marcus Campbell as superintendent. He’s two years in. Marcus presented his goals to the board and to the community, and it was really an amazing process.

Beyond that, I think the way our district now has embraced equity, particularly racial equity. We really do look at groups of students and how we prepare students to come into ETHS and what those students need.

The Daily: Racial equity — whether that be in academics, discipline or student wellbeing — has been a main point of conversation for the board. One thing you often have said at board meetings is there’s more work to be done. How do you aim to achieve that progress? 

Savage-Williams: We’re data-based, so we’re looking at our student achievement data. We now have a data dashboard where we can track the progress of our students in certain groups. We look at patterns.

The Daily: Do you foresee your thought process for making decisions about district changing during your next term?

Savage-Williams: We’re gonna have to change given what’s happening on a national level. I don’t know what those changes are gonna look like. I don’t know how to respond to some of the dangerous threats out there.

I hate being reactive, but I think we’re gonna have to react to some of this stuff. That means that we’re gonna need to call on our legal counsel to help guide us through this time and try to stick with who we are in our values. And recognize that there’s certain parts of us that can’t be compromised.

Email: anaviprakash2027@u.northwestern.edu 

X: @anavi_52

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