The Evanston Township High School Foundation usually raises about $1 million every year. Last year, it brought in more than 10 times that amount, according to Chief Advancement Officer Jeff Hammock.

The money — part of the foundation’s $48 million Evanston to Everywhere capital campaign — is funding renovations to the school’s arts and career-technical education spaces. The project includes a new art gallery, black box theater and industrial kitchen.

Sarah Schmidt, the foundation’s director of advancement marketing, said the vision for the campaign emerged several years ago as former Superintendent Eric Witherspoon was leaving his role. She added the project represents the first major renovation of ETHS in nearly 60 years.

“It’s time. It’s been too long, and there’s some places that need to be invested in,” Schmidt said. “The focus on the arts and career spaces — that’s a district decision. We come along to ask how we go about executing their plan from a funding perspective.”

According to its website, the foundation raises and donates private funds to “complement, enhance and enrich” the school’s programming and facilities “beyond the means of conventional public funding.”

Hammock said the district can only borrow a limited amount in loans each year, far short of what’s needed for a large-scale construction project. With concerns that higher property taxes could price some residents out of Evanston, the foundation funds improvements by tapping alumni for donations rather than burdening taxpayers, he added.

As part of a new fundraising strategy, Hammock said the foundation has reached out to ETHS’ roughly 60,000 alumni, emphasizing the school’s distinctive status as a high-performing public high school that is racially and socioeconomically diverse.

“It’s really telling the ETHS story in ways maybe we haven’t,” he said. “We haven’t necessarily bragged about ourselves very well. We just go about doing the work.”

In the past 15 years, the foundation has completed nearly 50 projects, from installing turf on the football field to fully renovating classroom spaces. Now, the district has secured about half of the necessary funding for its latest initiative, Hammock said.

He added that the Evanston to Everywhere campaign emphasizes the idea that “place shapes possibilities.” Schmidt pointed to the new art gallery and industrial kitchen as examples of how students will be able to showcase their work and apply their skills in real-world settings.

“They’re getting a really well-rounded experience, and it’s empowering these educators to give them those opportunities and to teach them about owning a business and responding to your clients,” Schmidt said. “It’s more than just how to cut an onion properly.”

Nick Gehl, the arts and innovation department chair at ETHS, said the project underscores the district’s commitment to supporting students with postsecondary plans beyond traditional college pathways.

In 2024, just over 50% of ETHS students took at least one CTE course. The school offers nearly 50 CTE classes across five major categories: Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health Sciences, Industrial Technology and Information Technology/Computer Science.

“At a time when we often read about schools reducing or eliminating some of these programs, it’s great to see ETHS reinvesting in them in a new way,” Gehl said. “I think part of that is driven by the vision of our leadership — recognizing that careers and postsecondary plans beyond high school often relate to one of these areas.”

Hammock and Schmidt pointed to the positive impact of completed renovations, including a new multi-purpose Alumni Hall and health science center.

Hammock added that ETHS is not alone in taking on large-scale renovations. Nearby New Trier High School has pursued similar projects in recent years, he said.

Looking ahead, Gehl said spaces like the planned black box theater will do more than expand facilities — they will shape how students and teachers experience school itself.

“It impacts how we feel in the space, and then as a result, I think it impacts how we perform in the space, how we show up, how we commit,” Gehl said. “I think having some of our new spaces is going to provide students and staff with a totally new experience.”

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