The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dr Bessie Rhodes-global Studies
Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies is a K-8 school in Skokie serving about 250 students. It is the only entirely bilingual school in Evanston CCSD 65 and the most racially and socioeconomically diverse school in the district.
The school will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year as part of the district's Structural Deficit Reduction Plan. This is not a decision made lightly; families currently enrolled or considering enrollment should understand this timeline immediately.
The school's student body is composed largely of Hispanic and Black students, with about three-fifths identifying as Hispanic and about one-third as Black. The enrollment is small and stable across the grades. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, but the school serves a neighborhood with substantial housing diversity and families at varying income levels.
Testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows math and English language arts proficiency below the midpoint among Cook County districts. In math, proficiency in the lower elementary grades runs in the low 40s; by upper elementary it drops sharply, falling to single digits by grade 6. English language arts follows a similar trajectory, starting in the mid-30s in grade 3 and dropping significantly by grade 6. The few science results available show proficiency in the mid-teens. In overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, the school ranks in the bottom quartile of Cook County schools. The testing data cannot be compared to prior years because Illinois changed its proficiency cut scores, making year-to-year trends unreliable.
The school's academic struggles are real and should weigh heavily on a parent's decision. A parent should ask the school directly about the causes and what instructional changes are underway. The district recently adopted a new K-5 literacy curriculum, replacing an older approach that drew criticism for not reliably teaching foundational reading; this is a district-wide shift that affects the school. The district also restructured middle school math in 2021, putting all middle schoolers on a single advanced sequence with no separate tracks and eliminating placement testing. These changes are meant to strengthen teaching, but their effects on results take time to materialize.
The school's name reflects its bilingual mission. If two-way or early-exit bilingual instruction is central to a family's goals, the school offers that directly. When Dr. Bessie Rhodes closes, the district plans to relocate the Two-Way Immersion program to a new Foster Elementary opening in Evanston's Fifth Ward for the 2026-27 school year. Families of current students should speak with the school and district about enrollment options as the transition approaches.
Skokie itself is a diverse, dense inner-ring Cook County suburb about 15 miles north of downtown Chicago. It is in an active phase of growth and mixed-use development, with dozens of new apartment and townhome projects underway and the Westfield Old Orchard mall being transformed from retail into a 24/7 mixed-use community. Transit access is good: the CTA Yellow Line (Skokie Swift) connects to downtown and the Red and Purple Lines. Housing values and rents in the area reflect the suburban real estate market and proximity to Chicago, and affordability relative to regional income is moderate. The area has strong civic anchors including the Skokie Public Library and the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park along with trail systems.
For a prospective enrollee, the critical facts are the academic performance data, the school's closure timeline, and the fact that bilingual instruction will continue in the district but at a different location beginning next year. For a current family, the same closure timeline and the opportunity to transition into the new Foster bilingual program should be the starting point for planning.
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