On a sunny Sunday morning, Evanston residents Dane Philipsen and Bridget Gongol sat at a bright orange table in the plaza sandwiched between downtown Central Street and Independence Park on the boundary of the city’s 6th and 7th wards.
The 6th Ward natives fell into a peaceful silence as they looked toward the plaza’s small, round stage — added as part of the park’s June renovations — which sat empty in the early hours. Despite the absence of morning performers, Philpson and Gongol said the stage was anything but lifeless.
Throughout the morning, the pair said they had watched families drift through the plaza, young kids scrambling onto the platform to climb, dance, and run in circles. They laughed as they recalled an instance in which one child stopped to ask a stranger for permission to hug their dog.
“The community space and green space in the 6th Ward allow us to build connections we wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Gongol said.
Gongol and Philpson moved to the 6th ward in June. They described the area as “adorable” and said they enjoyed the many local businesses and the ease of running, biking, and accessing public transportation.
The ward is a primarily residential neighborhood, home to many families and outdoor spaces, including Ackerman Park, Cartwright Park, Lovelace Park, and Bent Park. The area also includes Dwight Perkins Woods, a forest preserve, as well as many smaller neighborhood playgrounds.
Gongol said she thought the many outdoor event spaces in the 6th Ward contributed to the strong sense of community she has experienced since moving there.
“You pop by these events and there are all these little groups of people chatting with each other,” Gongol said. “The ward does feel very community-oriented. People are forming real connections, and that’s special.”
The ward is also home to two schools — Willard Elementary School and Lincolnwood Elementary School. The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education has voted twice on scenarios including the two schools, failing to pass any of them.
Across the 6th Ward, many families have put up yard signs with the slogan “Invest in Neighborhood Schools,” linking to a website that advocates for the board to consider an alternative to closing schools.
One of the 6th Ward residents who may be impacted by the District 65 school board’s decision is Angélica Williams, a Willard parent.
“What is upsetting to me is knowing what brought the school district to this point, and knowing that action needed to be taken earlier, and it wasn’t,” Williams said.
Despite her frustration at the district, Williams echoed Gongol’s description of the 6th Ward’s close community and said that she enjoyed Willard Elementary’s proximity to playgrounds and outdoor spaces.
Sixth Ward resident Mia Zifkin has been living in the ward for nine years. However, she decided to send her two children to private schools. One reason she made that decision was that her daughter needed extra support in school because she has dyslexia.
“People think of Evanston as downtown Evanston, so we are kind of a hidden gem,” Zifkin said. “We have a nice combination of young families moving in and families who have been here for years, and then people in the middle, so you really get the best of both worlds.”
Zifkin described the ward as very family-oriented and said she enjoys the local businesses the ward has to offer.
Despite their different school choices, both parents emphasized the strength of the community in which they lived.
“No matter what happens this week, the parents here are caregivers, and we are going to come together and we’re going to work this out,” Williams said.
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