Over the past year, Kirby Callam, director of strategic project management at Evanston/Skokie School District 65, has regularly updated the District 65 Board of Education on the design and construction of the new Foster School.
Set to open for the 2026-27 school year, the building is the first public school to be constructed in Evanston in decades and represents the culmination of a long-standing push by 5th Ward residents to bring a neighborhood school back to the area.
As the school’s walls rise, The Daily spoke with Callam to learn more about the project’s progress, various challenges the district has faced and what the future holds for elementary school education in Evanston.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The Daily: Could you briefly describe the design and construction process of the Foster School? What will the building look like?
Callam: It’s a K-5 elementary school building. Elementary schools across the district typically have an auditorium in addition to a gym and a cafeteria because that design was typical when the last school was built back in the 1960s — almost 60 years ago.
We’re not planning to have an auditorium because it’s a largely wasted space — used maybe 10% of the school year. We’ll have a cafetorium instead with a built-in stage, a multi-use space that will be used much more efficiently.
By building a new school on a small property already owned by the district, we were limited by a lack of physical space. In that regard, not having an auditorium saves space for other amenities inside the building and a larger field and playground.
Most of our buildings are in need of high repair, and if the district followed a replacement schedule, many of them would have long since been replaced with brand new, more modern buildings. This project adds that modern design to the district’s inventory, and if we’re capable in terms of financial stability moving forward, we should be building a new school every 10 years.
Following that schedule, the Foster School will be a leader in environmental friendliness. It will be the least energy-consuming building in the district by far because we’ll have a full solar array on the roof, setting the standard for future construction.
The Daily: What were some of the challenges the district faced throughout the construction process?
Callam: In the beginning, the school was going to be K-8, serving nine grade levels in total. It was also supposed to house the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies as a smaller school within the building.
Putting a K-8 building and two schools on this site was ambitious to say the least. Once the district’s new leadership came in, they reviewed what this space could realistically accommodate.
The original plan, which was estimated to cost around $40 million, ended up actually being somewhere in the mid-$60 millions. To get back closer to that original price, we had to pivot to a K-5 building, which was a much more realistic outcome for this project — financially, operationally and facility-wise.
The board approved that K-5 design, and we were able to bring the budget down to around $48 million. Since then, things have gone quite well. We’ve been working with our construction firm, our design firm and the community to get input. Budget-wise and schedule-wise, we’ve worked incredibly closely with the city, and they’ve helped us overcome some obstacles in planning.
At this point, the project looks to be on course and under budget. But of course, we still have a year and some months to go, so we’ll see.
The Daily: How have recent tariffs or economic uncertainty affected the project’s cost?
Callam: We went to contract with over 80% of our budget in December — before Trump came into office. Once you have a contract with a vendor, they have to honor the original terms, and the prices are fixed.
We do have another round of bids going out in June, and some of them are for concrete, playground structures and other landscaping materials. Those prices could be impacted by tariffs, but we’re not expecting it to throw our budget into chaos. We’re planning for price fluctuations and have contingency plans to address any issues that come up.
The Daily: Could you speak to the significance of this project for the 5th Ward residents who have wanted this school for decades and detail how you’ve collaborated with community members?
Callam: Since I came to the project, we’ve held community meetings for neighbors to provide feedback about outdoor spaces and the school’s name, logo and colors. Now, we’re not so much seeking input about the building’s architecture, but we are building a school community by hosting events on a regular basis for families to get to know each other.
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Related Stories:
— D65 board approves inaugural Foster School principal, community advocates for school level issues
— District 65 board discusses sustainability, school closure plans
— Fifth ward school to be named “Foster School” at groundbreaking, decades in the making
