"This school is important to the neighborhood soliciting it."

As someone who lives in the Fifth Ward School neighborhood, I hear this mentioned A LOT by Sarita Smith and Board members but I'm curious if you're aware of any recent data that confirms this to be true?

As far as I know, they didn't survey the 402 students and their families currently in other schools that would be moved to the new school asking them what their preferences are. They instead relied on 2012 referendum data about Fifth Ward voters (which is NOT the same cohort as "Fifth Ward school" voters since it includes portions of 2nd ward and excludes portions of the 5th ward and is citizens with children in D65 vs. all voting citizen) and hearing from local activists who have been pushing for it for decades. What would the 402 students/families currently in D65 say according to the data? Would not have been that difficult or expensive to ask....Perhaps I've simply missed it, but would love to see this information and then have better data to back this statements rather than relying on emotion and intuition.

I expect that it likely would show some preference for constructing the new school, but that's simply conjecture. And I don't think it'd show that people would want to take their children out of current schools (myself included). Of course, they say they will allow students to complete their schooling at their current school they are already enrolled at when the boundaries change. That could certainly impact initial enrollment for the new school, but would stabilize once a cohort completes fifth grade. (This "rule" applies to ALL students across district on the redraw incidentally, not just Fifth Ward School students - that is, student can complete the grades in their current school BUT must change if going to middle school for example. I'd be in favor of what Evanston Roundtable founder and editor Larry Gavin suggested to give Fifth Ward School students a CHOICE of new school or to the alternate / prior assigned school in perpetuity - bus rides not included ;) ).