Foster
Elementary
Foster Elementary School History
The original Foster Street School was established in 1905. Ellen Foster, the school's pioneering first principal, was notably progressive, advocating against segregation from early on and establishing the school as a community hub. The school expanded with additions in 1925 and 1931, reflecting its increasing enrollment. After a significant fire in 1958, a new wing was built in 1959.
The school's trajectory shifted dramatically in 1967 when, amid national desegregation efforts, Foster School was converted into the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Experimental Laboratory School (King Lab School). This transformation involved busing white students into the school while many Black students from the Fifth Ward were bused out, effectively ending its role as a neighborhood attendance school.
In 1979, the original Foster School building at 2010 Dewey Avenue closed, and the King Lab program relocated to a different site. The building was then sold to Family Focus Evanston.
The legacy of Foster School endures, with plans initiated in 2005 culminating in the groundbreaking of a new Foster School in summer 2024, aiming to reopen in August 2026 as a K-5 neighborhood school in the Fifth Ward.
Randolph S. Foster
Foster Street School is named after Foster Street, which honors Randolph Sinks Foster (1820-1903), who was president of Northwestern University from 1856-1860.
"Foster School Remembered"
Our school survived the fire.
The old and weaker wing has been burned out:
Nothing of it now remains.
The newer, stronger wing
Withstood the flames
And it still stands, but not alone:
Emerging from the burnt outside
A bright new wing has grown with strength
And a beauty to match the other’s own.
Thus stands our school- with stronger, sturdier
Wings outstretched
To nestle and to nurture all encompassed.
In its two wings, the old and new well harmonized,
Past dreams and future hopes are symbolized,
The future now is here.
This building still we do revere.
It’s beacon still in our neighborhood.
The changes have been very good,
Guiding again the youth
To light and truth.
Children of former children now come
To participate and carry on
Learning to prepare a legacy for the ones to come.
From: Not for Blacks Only (1989) by Mrs. Eddie Lee Sutton, poet, publisher, activist, teacher, and speech therapist at Foster School
Published in: Foster School Year Book 1905-1967. August, 1991. Evanston History Center Archives.
The D65 School History project is the result of a partnership with Evanston History Center. This research was completed by the Evanston History Center.
School History
Interested in the history of other District 65 schools?
Chute Middle School, originally named Oscar M. Chute Junior High, opened in 1966.
Dawes School is named after U.S. Vice President General Charles G. Dawes.
Dewey Elementary School was the first school in Evanston to have a kindergarten.
In 2004 Dr. Bessie Rhodes became the first Black woman to have a school named after her in Evanston.
The original King Lab was located in what is now Family Focus.
Ellen Foster, the first principal, viewed the school as a community hub.
Haven Middle School was initially built to serve students from two school districts.
Joseph E. Hill became Evanston's first Black superintendent of schools in 1975.
Namesake Homer Kingsley started the first Evanston public school kindergarten in 1882.
In the 1890s, children voted to name their new school "Lincoln" after the U.S. President.
The name incorporates nearby geographical features: Lincoln Street and a wooded area.
Frederick Nichols worked closely with the architect to create a school full of treasures.
Oakton is home to murals created by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.
Orrington's site was previously home to a Potawatomi village and burial ground.
The predecessor to Park School was established in 1949 by a group of parents.
The school was named after Chicago-area philanthropists Daniel and Ada Rice.
Walker opened to address rising enrollment due to the baby boom generation.
The yellow brick building on the corner of Main and Ashland is the original school.
The school was named after world-renowned social reformer Frances Willard.