Evanston vs. New Trier (Chicago, Rockford: crime, houses, employment)

[brenty]

But, I have to admit, if things continue the way they are going at Evanston. I probably would not send my children there. Not because I think it is a bad school, I think that my children should grow up in a more family friendly area like Wilmette.

[edsg25]

I'd like to see how ETHS holds on to its vaulted economic and racial diversity over New Trier. Seems to me that Evanston (the city, not school) is in the midst of a considerable gentrification to go along with the solid areas of the city that were anything but in need of rebuilding.

Evanston has used its prime North Shore location and proximity to the city, the lakefront, its cross between city and suburb, having NU in town, and a number of other issues that include character issues to send real estate values through the stratosphere. Not to mention real estate taxes.

Sure much of that development is in DT Ev, on the Chgo Ave corridor and other hot areas. But it sure looks like a renewed interest on the westside of town and from an ETHS perspective the key intersecitn of CHurch and Dodge suggests that areas in Evanston that are either black or low income may be threatened. Dodge's full length from Howard and city limits northward to Emerson could easily be lined with the type of condos you see on Chicago Ave, Central, Sherman, Orrington, etc.

I have serious questions about Evanston being able to hold on to its diversity and if it fails to do so, ETHS may end up more like NT than it might like.

[Humboldt1]

Let' be real folks. I don't BS and sorry if anyone is offended.

"Family friendly" means rich white and asian vs. Evanston which has poor black areas, many near the high school. I used to go to church there when I dated a girl who had family in evanston 4 years ago.

I live in humboldt park and there are parts of evanston worse than where I live. I hope they clean out that area near dodge and church. Of course, as the previous poster indicated this will make Evanston richer and less diverse, like wilmette.

No comparison between New Trier and Evanston. If you have a choice between the two go with New Trier. Less problems.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Let' be real folks. I don't BS and sorry if anyone is offended.

"Family friendly" means rich white and asian vs. Evanston which has poor black areas, many near the high school. I used to go to church there when I dated a girl who had family in evanston 4 years ago.

I live in humboldt park and there are parts of evanston worse than where I live. I hope they clean out that area near dodge and church. Of course, as the previous poster indicated this will make Evanston richer and less diverse, like wilmette.

No comparison between New Trier and Evanston. If you have a choice between the two go with New Trier. Less problems.

Nice work busting through Brenty's racist "code words". But Evanston is very family friendly, and the dodgy parts are indeed shrinking. The affordable housing activists would have a much easier time convincing people that this "diversity" is needed in gentrifying areas if large groups of poor residents made good neighbors, but there are definitely down sides to living next door to a block of low-income housing.

But alas, there are downsides to New Trier as well. Nearly every kid I've ever met from that school was a horrible spoiled brat with a massive sense of entitlement who couldn't take criticism. I think I'd prefer to have a few poor kids in the school to give my child a balanced perspective on life.

[Humboldt1]

Lookout Kid,

I went to Wash U as an undergrad and know all about rich spoiled kids. I can't stand them. They have never worked a real job in their lives. A couple years ago I went out with a girl who was 26 years old and finishing up law school with a masters in international business. She was smart, I'll give her that but had never worked a job in her life, not even an internship. She and her parents stay on the 88th floor of the Hancock. While I would love to have their view of the lake I just don't fit in with those kind of people, regardless of how much money I have.

The New Trier kids are certainly more likely to be rich, spoiled brats but I would much rather have my kids going to school with rich spoiled brats than urban thugs. I have talked at length with my former black tenants and they have overwhelmingly said they prefer to live around whites and hispanics to other poor blacks due to negative experiences they had growing up in the projects and in neighborhoods such as Garfield Park and Austin.

If you could live in Wilmette or Evanston around Dodge and Church and you cared about who your kids hung out with, do you think anyone would choose Evanston, regardless of race? Not likely.

If you want diversity feel free to come to Humboldt Park and enroll your kids in Clemente. Of course no one who values their children's education will do that as it is a crappy school that is only getting worse. Outside of the magnet schools few would speak highly of the high schools in Chicago.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Lookout Kid,

... I have talked at length with my former black tenants and they have overwhelmingly said they prefer to live around whites and hispanics to other poor blacks due to negative experiences they had growing up ...

If you want diversity feel free to come to Humboldt Park and enroll your kids in Clemente. Of course no one who values their children's education will do that as it is a crappy school that is only getting worse. Outside of the magnet schools few would speak highly of the high schools in Chicago.

I can't remember any tenant ever saying "gosh darn it this unit is so nice and quiet and affordable, I just wish that there was more chance I'd get mugged on the way home, or my kids get hassled by gang bangers -- I'm going to pass...".

Diversity is far less important to people who realize that better schools/better jobs are what really makes their future brighter. Often those are the very people who are moving OUT of the "mixed" neighborhoods.

[aragx6]

I think people have a tendency use "move to Humboldt Park" or "move to Austin" if you like diversity. That's not diversity! Not sure when diversity became code for "black neighborhoods" or "Hispanic neighborhoods" It's supposed to mean a lot of different kinds of people, both racially and economically.

So just because I'd rather send my (as yet non-existent) kids to racially and economically diverse Evanston doesn't mean I want to send them to school in Garfield Park. Give me a break!

[Humboldt1]

Humboldt Park is very very diverse. It is basically a buffer between the poor westside black communities of Garfield Park and more affluent Spanish/White Avondale and Logan Square. In the block where I live near Pulaski and North it is 10% black, 40% mexican and central american, 45% puerto rican and 5% white. How is that not diverse? We even have some whites moving in near the park north of division.

The further south and west you go, the more black the area becomes. Humboldt Park as a whole is 48% hispanic, 45% black and 5% white as of 2005 numbers. We don't have a lot of whites or asians. South of Chicago Avenue it is almost all black.

West Humboldt Park (not an official area) is 2/3 black and 1/3 hispanic.

I suspect the 2010 numbers for Humboldt Park as a whole will show 8% white, 57% hispanic, and 35% black.

Austin is not diverse, being homogeneous black population. In fairness, there is some economic diversity as one of my branches in Park Ridge is run by a black gentlman who lives in Austin.

[Calidreemer]

I went to ETHS 20 years ago and really appreciate the diversity I experienced while attending the school. I had friends on Foster and Dodge, I had friends on Sheridan road. My friends were of different races,(white, black, bi-racial, filipino, hispanic,etc) and religions. One of my high school friends who could easily afford to live anywhere on the North Shore chose to keep her family in Evanston because her husband, who attended NT, found it difficult as a person of a different ethnic background (even though he was popular and smart) and they didn't think it would be a good environment for their children. I think NT is a fine school for academics and I understand their teachers are well compensated. It's a very personal choice and people have to do the very best they can for their children. I think people just have to weigh all the options and make an informed decision.


Hey Brenty - I'd like to know what you do because I am in the wrong business

[edsg25]

New Trier is an outstanding school. No question about it.

But let's face reality. The era of New Trier being the poster child for excellence in secondary education is gone.

No, New Trier didn't in any way go down to the tubes. But a lot of high schools started to match its reputation. And the aura is gone. People do not say "New Trier" with reverence any more because there is enough out there past Winnetka and Northfield that looks pretty damned good.

Like Stevenson with its impressive campus and more impressive academics. Like one district that can turn out two schools of the caliber of Highland Park and Deerfield; or another district that can produce both GBN and GBS. Nobody on the North Shore or immediately inland in Glenview, Northbrook, or Deerfield are feeling in awe of New Trier.

Meanwhile, the city gives us such institutions like Northside and Payton that may run rings around New Trier, admittedly with a select enrollment. Still, they're there and they are more than getting the job done and they're doing it in an environment that is more stimulating and exciting that NTTHS.

And when it comes right down to it, if I had a child of high school and I wanted to see him get an excellent education in a place with diversity and one that would gear him for the real world, I'd choose ETHS over NT in a heartbeat.