Northwestern researchers to study racial equity, STEM education, and school reform in Evanston

Northwestern University researchers received a five-year, $4.5M grant from the National Science Foundation to study racial equity, STEM education, and school reform in Evanston, Ill., a diverse suburb of Chicago.

The project looks at the impact of the closure of a local elementary school in Evanston’s historically Black Fifth Ward in 1967 to the district’s decision in 2022 to reopen a new K-5 school in the fall of 2025.

The researchers’ central goal is to help align efforts and programs between Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and the city of Evanston, with the primary focus on the needs and priorities of Black families. 

Lead investigators include Sepehr Vakil, associate professor of learning sciences in Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy; Nichole Pinkard, the Alice Hamilton Professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy; and kihana miraya ross, assistant professor of Black studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

The project builds on ross’s research with Black residents in Evanston, Vakil’s research on participatory co-design in the Technology, Race, Ethics, and Equity in Education (TREE) Lab, and Pinkard’s work designing educational ecosystems.

The research team strives to create a research-community-practice partnership model, serving as a framework that can lead to more equitable and culturally sustaining STEM learning experiences for Black youth and their families.

Read the full story on Northwestern University’s School of Education and Policy website.